The Demon's Head
by TheHybridNotion
Summary: "So, your life in exchange for his?" "If that's what its going to take." "I do believe we have a deal then." Death would stare them both in the face that night.
1. The Demon Deal

**Summary-**

**Never deal with demons under any circumstances**

**Robin-Batman (Father/Son)**

* * *

><p>Out of all the stages of grief there was, Robin had some fixation on Bargaining. He was sure he could outsmart death. Even though it wasn't his death he was outsmarting.<p>

His mindset that death wouldn't win was probably why the Bat-Plane was landing on a secluded, luxurious island.

* * *

><p>A man sat motionless on his throne, eyeing the security footage suspiciously. His daughter stood obediently beside him, concealing her small grin as she realized who had arrived.<p>

Three guards burst through the door almost instantaneously.

"Sir, the Batman has landed on the island. Shall we apprehend hi-"

He cut them off as he waved a hand in the air, the folds of the robe sleeves falling in the opposing direction.

"That will not be necessary, gentlemen." Our guest must have quite a good reason for coming here unannounced, after all, I've been a "model citizen" lately."

The guards simply nodded and exited as swiftly as they had entered.

"Father, do you think that-"

"Quiet Talia, we shall make no assumptions until we speak with him, until then, you shall be seen and not heard."

She bowed her head solemnly and stepped backward.

* * *

><p>His black boots colliding with the freshly tiled floor were doing nothing for his stealth skills at the moment. Not to mention the gurney wheels weren't helping his case too much either. However, he paid careful mind to each bump and made sure to avoid each one as he steered it down the seemingly endless hallway. His eyes flickered uneasily under the mask, keeping on constant alert for guards. He couldn't tell if he was relieved or more wary as he made it to the main room of the palace. No guards was a good thing, but what could possibly be keeping them from attacking?<p>

He cautiously opened the grand doors and peered a head through. The lights were dimmed and no one was in sight. He sighed heavily and slipped through the doors with his precious cargo.

He looked from side to side, as the shadows eerily seemed to dance in the crudely lit room.

Just as he stepped foot in the center of the room, a few feet away from the throne, the room became basked in a harsh light.

Robin squinted and looked up to see the illuminated form of Ra Al Ghul on his throne.

"Why, if it isn't my favorite detective's little sidekick?"

Robin glared at him and turned his attention to the woman standing next to him who was returning his glance with her eyebrow raised.

"Does the almighty Batman really let his little children travel all alone?"

By now Ra had removed himself from the throne and was descending down the stairs to get a closer look at the boy.

Robin clenched his fist and looked to the ground. "I'm not here alone.."

Ra tilted his head. "Oh, so you brought some little spies did you? Have them hidden on the island? I'm sure my guards will take great enjoyment in slicing their little heads off. They seem to get some sort of thrill in massacring children. Me? Well, I prefer more…formidable…. opponents, such as, well I'm sure you know."

Robin watched for a few moments as the man circled him, eager for him to lash out and start a fight. He looked up and stared the man in the face. "No spies, just me and-"

He stopped short and glanced at the gurney covered with a thin white sheet.

Dark Black Kevlar was visible through the thin sheet and upon closer inspection the motionless figure's chest rose and fell ever so slightly.

Ra smirked evily. "And what do you have there, Boy Wonder?"

Robin shook his head and reached for the corner of the sheet as he pulled it down.

Ra tried to hide his eyes widening as he took in the full image of the body becoming visible on the gurney.

There he was cowl intact and all. The Batman. Below the Bat Symbol on his chest were many layers of heavy-duty gauze, which was already starting to leak through with crimson.

Talia's eyes widened completely in shock as she brought her hand to her mouth and gasped.

"Beloved!"

She raced down in an effort to be next to the Batman. Robin put his arm to block her from getting closer than a few inches to his side.

Even so, she reached out and stroked the side of his face.

He cringed. _God he HATED that woman to no end, but if he was going to get any help at all, well he had to be nice, at least for a little while, even if he did want to slap her senseless. _

She looked at Robin angrily. "What has happened?"

He returned the angry look while her father eyed them both suspiciously.

"Assasin. Arkham City. Good Assassin. He got exposed to some sort of poison in addition to this. Apparently there is no cure currently available. And by the time the doctors can find one….."

He gulped.

Talia only stood there silently, never removing her eyes from Batman's unconscious face.

Ra only stood there and listened to the boy. When he was finished he tucked his head to his chest.

"And you would bring him here, to a supervillain, mortal enemy of his, even. Why, may I ask? Are you so sure that I will not take the initiative and finish him off myself, performing all criminals a public service?"

Robin smiled at him defiantly.

"You won't Mr. Al Ghul. He means too much to you. You know he is the only one that can match your intellect and fighting abilities. You would never finish him off this way. It would be dishonorable, now wouldn't it? And I know you and how much you care about that."

Ra narrowed his eyebrows. "I see, the Bat has taught you well. Even so, there must be something you want in order to make the journey all the way here."

"I'll cut to the chase." He looked at his mentor as eyes lingered to the gruesome wound on his side. He cut back the urge to cry as he spoke to Ra as calmly as he could.

"You're known for your Lazarus pits, they can cure and bring things back to life. I need to use one, now."

Ra contemplated the boy's request for a moment.

"Well, you're quite a demanding one, aren't you?" He rubbed his chin absentmindedly as he continued his conversation.

"What could I possibly have to gain from healing him?"

"Me."

Talia looked up around the same time her father did. She eyed him, looking for some sort of sign he was lying. But here he was, the small little caped boy standing before her father with no fear. She had seen only one man do this before, and that was Batman.

Although she wouldn't admit it, she was highly impressed by this boy.

"You would trade your life for the one of your mentor? Quite noble for a boy of your age."

Robin's stoic face didn't falter. He was ok with staring death in the face today if that meant saving his father.

"However, it would be a waste to kill someone with your talents. Perhaps, your mentor was to bullheaded to see the light, but maybe not you."

He put a hand on Robin's shoulder and looked into the whites of his mask.

"Your young and impressionable. This could work. Even though we couldn't get the almighty Batman to join our crusade, perhaps this is the next best thing."

"Maybe you will see that a few lives sacrificed for the greater good of humanity is necessary."

He scoffed. "Unlike him, you seem to be the open minded one."

He motioned to Talia.

He leaned down to eye level with the boy. "His life saved and in return I get you?"

"If that's what it's going to take."

He smirked and held out his hand. Robin cautiously held out his glove to the man and they shook hands.

"Excellent, the bargain is settled then."

"Talia, take your beloved detective to the Lazarus."

Robin made a motion to follow Talia and his incapacitated mentor, instead his motion was blocked as Ra grabbed his arm and yanked him back hard enough that that he landed on his knees. He unintentionally let his guard down, and well, he frankly didn't expect that from the previously calm man.

Robin wasn't hurt or anything, mostly his pride if anything. Ra smiled as he watched the boy stare at the ground thinking about what had just happened.

He smirked demonically and tilted the boy's chin up roughly to look him in the eyes.

"Well, little bird, I probably should have said something earlier, but my name is not the Demon's Head for nothing."

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><p><strong>So yeah, this was probably the most random story I've written(and believe me, there's a lot!) Sorry if the characters are a little OC, couldn't really capture Ra's personality to well :(<strong>

**This came to me after watching some Arkham City gameplay…..don't ask XD**

**Thanks for reading and please review if you have the chance, it makes my day to read your comments 3 **

-**RobinXZatanna **


	2. Bye Bye Little Birdie

**Yeah! Chapter 2! :D**

**Just wanted to give a shout out to all the reviewers, you guys rock! This was originally supposed to be a oneshot, but all this feedback changed my mind, so here's chapter 2! **

**Again, thank you all for the wonderful comments and messages, I feel so special when a new one appears :)**

* * *

><p>Bruce Wayne was aware of three things as his eyes unsteadily fluttered open.<p>

1. He was in a freaking hospital, which he absolutely hated to no end.

2. He couldn't feel his cowl on his face, which most likely meant he was in the Watchtower Med- Bay.

3. There was a pair of bright baby blues in his face, staring at him intently, anticipating his next move.

As the room came into focus more, he realized something else, his incapability of taking in an adequate amount of air. Within seconds he figured out why. Dick Grayson had him in a choker-hold hug around his neck. The boy's face was a bright shade of red, which would suggest he had been crying. Bruce hated to see his little bird cry.

He reached around and patted his ward's back.

"Dick."

"….."

His face remained buried in the crook of his adopted father's neck as he quickly tightened his grip around the man.

"Dick."

"Yeah Bruce?" He tried to hide the crack in his voice as he answered.

"I may be the goddamn Batman, but I need air at some point too…"

"Oh! Right, sorry…" He immediately detached himself and kneeled down on the bed a few inches away from his initial spot.

"It's fine." He patted his shoulder affectionately and smiled. Robin and Alfred were about the only people in the world to see this side of the Dark Knight.

Dick tilted his head. "How are you feeling?"

Bruce straightened. And twisted his body slightly. To his surprise there was absolutely no pain.

"Surprisingly well, all things considering."

Dick smiled. "It worked then."

"What worked?"

His breath hitched. "The um…..the painkillers! The painkillers they gave you….they….uh worked…." He rubbed the back of his neck uneasily.

"It would seem so…." He stared at Dick suspiciously. One does not simply lie in front of the Batman.

Dick paid no mind to the look he was getting and absentmindedly rubbed his eyes to cover up the shine he had in them from crying.

He never wanted to show weakness in front of him.

"The doctor's said you should stay on bed rest for at least a few more hours….Not that you will…"

Bruce raised an eyebrow.

"I can't be laying around here when there is things that need to be taken care of…"

Dick sighed. "You can for a few hours! You almost DIED Bruce!"

"Dick, listen….."

"No! You listen to me! Do you have any idea what went down after that assassin got you with that poison, and you insisted that you keep fighting? I told you I could handle it after I got you to a hospital, but no, you had to be the great invincible emotionless Batman! Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw you passed out on the ground with no pulse? I barely got you to Ra-the hospital in time without breaking down on the spot!"

His fingers were gripping the metal frame of the hospital bed as his face turned red again with anger.

Bruce just stared at him with an expressionless face as his adopted son yelled at him.

Dick took a deep breath before lifting his head again to look Bruce in the face again. This time all the anger was gone and was replaced with a scrunched up face futilely resisting the urge to cry.

"I can't lose another father!"

That was the breaking point for the little bird as he started to sob uncontrollably.

Bruce just sat there for a moment with his mouth agape. He was shocked that he had been holding back all this time.

He then did the only thing he could think to do. He reached out and grabbed his son in an embrace.

Small gasping noises resonated throughout the room as Robin cried on the Bat's shoulder.

"I am so sorry." He didn't know what to say. His son just spilled his guts out and all he could spit out was sorry.

"If it really means that much to you…..I guess I could stay in Med-Bay for a couple of hours…..I could maybe have Superman do a sweep through of Gotham and…"

Dick lifted his head and sniffled. "You're actually going to put yourself before the mission for once?"

"If it means that much to you…I'll stay here for awhile."

He rubbed his eyes with his sleeve. "It does. It means your going to take care of yourself. We're not invincible and we're not meta's, Bruce. Even the Batman needs to rest and heal sometimes too."

Bruce shook his head in defeat. "Well then I guess the Boy Wonder should have a day off too. Black Canary should be done with the team now. Why don't you all go out and do teenager things?"

"Teenager things?" Dick smiled at his poor choice of words.

"You know what I mean, go see a movie with them or something."

"You mean it?"

"Did I stutter?" And there was the return of the Dark Knight mouth.

"You sure you don't want me to stay with you? I mean I could stay…..just so I know your not going to leave me…." The last words came out in a whisper as he stared at the floor.

He placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "I'm not going to leave you."

Dick sighed and managed a smile. "I know that now." _Wish I could say the same thing…_

Bruce smirked. "What are you still doing here? Go on, go get the team and do something fun for a change."

He leaned back on the pillow to reassure his son. "I'll just be here watching the magic picture box." He motioned to the T.V mounted to the wall.

Dick shook his head at his technology references. "Sure Bruce, sure, you do that."

He hugged him once more and got off of the bed. He made it to the doorway before he stopped and looked back.

"Bruce."

"Yes, Dick?"

"Thank You."

"For what?"

"Everything."

The Batman gave him a puzzled look before he chuckled and waved his hand as he walked out the door. 

* * *

><p>Computer Access Granted<p>

Initialization Location-BatCave

"Computer, access tracker data for Richard Grayson, access files for Robin."

"Records for /Robin presented for last 48 hours."

And there it was plain as day on the tracker history, Ra Al Ghul's island.

"Computer, terminate existing tracked files and initiate manual coordinate reset to Gotham City for past 48 hours."

"Termination Feature Locked. Pass Code Required."

Robin typed formulas into the keyboard before he looked up and answered the robotic female's voice.

"Code-00005-Putin Pasare"

"Access Granted, proceed with history termination?"

He typed on the large computer again. " Begin manual reset to Gotham City for past 48 hours."

"Termination processing; please wait."

He tapped his fingers anxiously on the arm of the chair. _Damn thing's being really slow today._

"Termination Complete-locations reset to Gotham City."

_Perfect._

He turned to his wrist computer and plugged it in to the side of the Batcave's main computer that he was just working on.

He worked precisely on his wrist computer for a few moments before turning to the main screen that had turned to a bright red flashing color.

The text appeared large on the screen.

"Proceed with file erase and transfer?"

He pressed enter when it returned right back again prompting him for another password.

He bit his lip as he typed the password, "Mary Grayson" on the keyboard.

The screen turned green as it processed his request.

He hurriedly removed the computer from his wrist, while it still remained connected to the main computer.

"File transfer from device to Bat-Computer complete."

"Begin Device memory wipe?"

He typed away on the keyboard giving permission to wipe the hardrive.

In a moment the screen turned green again. "File Wipe Success."

He unplugged it and looked it over. It no longer lit up or had files on it. It was completely wiped clean and a useless piece of junk now. Figuratively speaking, he killed it.

He looked to his belt for an empty pocket and discreetly slipped it inside. 

* * *

><p>It was one of those rare peaceful moments that heroes can have. No missions or training today. They were actually allowed the chance to be teenagers today, even if they were still fully costumed.<p>

Artemis tapped her fingers anxiously on the table, resisting the urge to slap Wally.

The waitress had just brought out three pizzas to their table and Wally already had his face plastered into his slice.

The team was now enjoying their lunch in the outdoor dining area of the pizza shop.

"Don't eat to fast you idiot, you'll make yourself sick!" She glared daggers at the speedster.

"Mmmghhfff!" No one could understand him as he stuffed the remains of a pizza crust in his mouth.

The team rolled their eyes as they started on their slices. Kaldur glanced over mid-bite at Robin and frowned.

The whites of his mask were small slits suggesting his eyes were narrowed. He picked at the untouched pizza slice with a fork with a conflicted look on his face.

"Robin, is there a problem?"

The whole team had caught on at this point and were looking at the Boy Wonder.

He looked up immediately and noticed the whole team staring at him with concern.

"No, no I'm fine, really, just sorta tired. Long patrol the other night."

Kaldur nodded his head approvingly while still keeping an eye on the smallest member of the group.

M'gann grinned as she swallowed her first bite of the pizza. "This is delicious! I wonder if I could make this myself at the Cave?"

Superboy grimaced as his girlfriend went on about making some pizza herself later.

Robin suddenly stood up. "I'm going to the…um….bathroom….be back in a few."

He strode away from the table quickly and entered the building.

Kaldur lifted his head slightly. "Does anyone else feel that something is…off?"

Artemis crinkled her nose.

"Nah, that's just Robin being Robin, he keeps to himself, Kaldur I wouldn't worry about it."

The Boy Wonder pushed through the store doors all the way up to the cash register. A perky red head stood there grinning with bright eyes.

He did the cool guy walk up to the counter and leaned on it as he gave her the "pretty boy smile."

He took special note of the little Flash pin on her purse beside her, and the yellow Kid Flash hoodie she was wearing.

_This would work perfectly. _

He quickly looked her over and his eyes fell upon her nametag.

"Hey there, Pamela."

She almost had a heart attack when she realized the Boy Wonder was talking to her.

"Listen, Pam, can I call you Pam? Is anybody else her in the building here with you?"

She popped her gum and tilted her head. "Nope, just me. Everybody else is on break across the street. But they should back soon if you need something."

"Oh no, no that's fine. But you see my friend out there?" He pointed directly out the plexi glass doors to where Kid Flash was still downing the pizza by the truckload now.

She simply grinned at the sight of him. Robin knew she was definitely a fan.

"You see, he was looking for a movie date later and he just can't find a girl to suit him."

"I bet if you strolled on out there, he'd love to meet you."

She contemplated this a minute before sighing.

"Oh I'd love to, but I can't leave the register."

He put his hand up. "No need, I'll make sure everything's in order, and if your manager says something, you just tell him to come to me."

She bit her lip. "Well, if you're sure."

She began to step out from behind the counter.

"It's fine, really, you can trust me."

"O-ok then, thank you Robin!"

"No problem, now go get 'em!"

He practically pushed her out the door and watched with a satisfied smile as she jogged over to where KF was sitting.

He scurried back to the counter and unhooked his utility belt from his waist.

He slapped it down on the counter and began to dig through one of the pockets.

He sighed with relief when his fingers circled around a small vial. He immediately took it out and shook the small container. The clear liquid sloshed around and bubbled as he shook it.

He then reached for another pocket, which contained a small pocketknife.

Ra Al Ghul's words echoed in his head. _Just one drop of blood and the elixir will do the rest._

He brought the knife up to his thumb and made a hairline incision along the side of it.

A small dribble of bright red started to leak from it. He immediately brought up the vial as it dripped steadily inside, mixing with the clear liquid.

He capped it again and shook the vial furiously.

This time it turned a dark electric blue color.

Robin stared at the drastic color change for a moment. It was so bright it almost seemed to glow.

He then unfastened his cape and took off both gloves. He took the pocketknife again and sliced off the now empty pocket off his utility belt. He laid all the items in a scattered pile before turning back to the vial. He uncapped it yet again and began to scatter drops of the blue liquid on his now discarded cape, gloves, and belt pocket.

He then proceeded to splatter paint the counter with the electric blue liquid. There were a few drops of it left when he reached for his belt again and took out the dismantled wrist computer.

He turned it over in his hands a few times before throwing it to the floor and stomping a foot on it, breaking it into various pieces. He let the remainder of the fluid drip carelessly onto it.

He placed the empty vial back into his belt and reached for another pocket.

From it, he produced two small rectangular explosive devices.

He jogged over a couple feet away from his discarded belongings and set the two explosives side by side. He tapped meticulously at the buttons before small red numbers appeared on the screen.

A countdown.

He immediately ran back to the counter and picked up the remains of his belt and wrapped it around himself once more after taking out his grappling gun.

His eyes scanned his garments with the glowing blue liquid for a moment before he shot a line up to the skylight in the middle of the building. He climbed up hastily and popped one of the glass tiles off and climbed out.

He reached the roof of the building and took a look at his friends all giggling with the civilian he had sent out there to occupy Wally.

He smiled at the sight before sighing sadly. He turned on his heel and sprang for the next building. 

* * *

><p>"You seem like a nice chick and all, but I really don't need a date!"<p>

"But Robin said you needed one, and I'm your biggest fan!" The girl was persistent as she scootched closer to the speedster.

Wally grimaced as the rest of the team tried to control their laughter. "Oh, he is so dead!"

Everyone was absorbed in the conversation except Superboy. He sat there with a frown on his face as he tapped his fingers anxiously on the table.

His super hearing was picking up on _something. _Whatever it was, he could tell it wasn't anything good.

Then he really heard it.

His mouth opened.

He immediately stood up from the table, the force almost taking the whole table with him.

"Guys! There's a-"

**BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMM!**

And all hell broke loose. 

* * *

><p>Barry Allen may not be the most mature of the Justice League, but when the time came to be serious about something, well he could surely shape up. Being the first to arrive on the scene after a distressed Wally called him, he was trying to mentally prepare for what he was about to see.<p>

Kaldur was attempting to calm down the civilian who had been flirting with Kid Flash up until a few moments ago.

At this time most of the League had shown up: Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Superman, Black Canary, Red Tornado, Aquaman, and Martian Manhunter.

Flash had passed out gloves to everyone as they searched in the rubble. This was now a crime scene.

Miss Martian turned to Kid Flash as they walked toward the dismantled building.

"He-He got out….right? I mean he's Robin, he found a way out….didn't he?"

Kid Flash put on a smile to ease her nerves. "Of course M'gann! He's probably on his way here to check if _we're _ok! I bet if you establish a mental connection with him now, he'll give us his coordinates right now!"

"But Wally, I c-can't…"

"He's out of range then obviously! C'mon beautiful stop worrying, he's fine, and I bet he's up on some rooftop laughing at how we're worrying."

"Well, if you're sure." She took off into the sky to get an aerial view.

Kid Flash took a deep breath as he put his gloves on. He had this horrible feeling in the pit of his stomach. He desperately tried to get rid of it. After all, Robin definitely made it out; he just had to.

He glanced around at the other YJ and JL members going through rubble while other members levitated large amounts of rubble away.

He began to sort through some charred remains of concrete when he heard Artemis shout.

"I found something!"

Kid Flash immediately ran over. His breath hitched when he saw what she was holding.

Carefully cradled in her hands was Robin's wrist computer in a couple pieces with blood spatter scattered all over it.

The other JL members eyed it suspiciously. Wonder Woman stepped forward. "Would there be a specific reason he'd leave his computer behind?" The worry in her voice was evident.

Kid Flash looked at the ground. "No…there isn't, but I'm telling you guys, he's fine, I'll bet you he'll call us in a few minutes telling us he's in Gotham safe and sound!"

Flash laid a hand on Wally's shoulder. "Wally.."

Wally shook it off. "Uncle Barry I'm telling you that-"

He stopped mid sentence when he noticed a small piece of black fabric under the rubble blowing slightly in the wind.

He immediately bent down and started to clear the rubble.

That's when he saw what it was.

Robin's cape.

It was what Wally noticed seconds later that scared him more.

He gingerly lifted the tattered fabric from underneath the debris.

He recoiled his hand when he felt something wet on it.

He felt the bile rise in his throat when he realized not only was it soaking wet with blood, but _brain matter _too.

His clean hand immediately reached to cover his mouth. His uncle saw what was happening.

His nephew was about to horribly contaminate the crime scene.

He three him over his shoulder and sped off away from the destruction site.

A couple hundred feet away (safe distance from any evidence) he set his nephew down.

The Flash rubbed circles on his back as Wally hurled all over the sidewalk.

When he finally stopped he fell to his knees and stared at the ground in disbelief.

"Uncle Barry, he had to have made it out, tell me he made it out!"

The Flash stared at him for a moment before he wrapped him in a hug.

"I wish I could Wally, I wish I could." 

* * *

><p>The Justice League members stood in a circle examining the items that had been bagged and tagged by the Flash's instructions.<p>

There were blood spattered gloves, a broken off piece of his utility belt, his wrist computer, and worst of all; his cape soaked through with blood and brain matter.

Wonder Woman crossed her arms and looked to Superman. "So you can't hear any heart beats in there, Clark? Not even the faintest one?"

He looked to the ground.

"I'm sorry Diana, I can't find any living human life …all we've got are….remains…."

She balled her fist. "We shall not touch anything else, until Batman arrives, he will want to run a full sweep of the crime scene. Did he say when he would be coming?"

The rest of the Justice League hung their heads shamefully.

She raised her voice angrily. "He doesn't know?"

Flash sped in almost immediately carrying Wally with his face buried in his Uncle's back.

"I'll call him."

Bruce Wayne's day started out as a fairly ok one.

He had survived a major poison dose from a highly trained assassin, had a heart to heart with the one person he cared about most, Robin, and was actually allowing himself to rest in the Med-Bay and catch up on much needed sleep. He also knew that at this very moment his ward was enjoying pizza and a movie with his teammates, no, his best friends.

He took pride in the fact that he would get to hear how great it was that night during dinner in the mansion.

Bruce Wayne's day _started _out as a good one. Batman's however, would end as a living hell.

His communicator chirped on the side desk and he casually reached for it.

"This is Batman."

"Bats.."

When he realized it was Barry he was surprised. The speedster was talking calmly and slowly, something he NEVER did. And on top of that, the sadness in his voice was unmistakable.

"There was an explosion…and Robin…."

The last few words were cut off as he took a deep breath.

"We're in Central City, I-I'm sending the coordinates to the Batmobile now…"

Bruce Wayne wasted no time as he sprang out of the bed.

"On my way." 

* * *

><p>The Gotham Docks were surprisingly quiet. The sun peeked eagerly out into the darkness giving everything an eerie shadow.<p>

A small figure walked along at a casual pace. Nodding recognition as a female approached him.

The female took the initiative and grabbed the smaller figure's arm gently as she led him towards the water.

They stopped in front of a small plane that blended into the darkness of the water.

A man in a long flowing robe stepped out and greeted the figure.

"So glad you opted to listen to me, I thought I might just have to drag you here, I'm glad you saved me the effort."

"Talia, please prepare our guest for departure." He smirked and turned his back to the boy.

Before he could even react a cloth was shoved in his face.

He immediately started to thrash and kick, but this was not normal chloroform.

Not even after two seconds he had lost control of his limbs and everything started to fade.

Through the haze he could see they were laying him on a small cot in the plane.

Talia came into his quickly fading vision, she blew him a kiss and smiled.

"Goodnight little bird."

"What the hell did I get myself into?"

Then everything seemed to turn to tunnel vision before he finally passed out. 

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><p><strong><strong>

**Holy crap that was a long chapter :P My fingers hurt now (;  
><strong>

**So what do you think? Good, bad, terrible?**

**If anyone needs clarification on anything, or you have questions, let me know!**

**I know I ramble a lot XD**

**So, this probably wasn't the best chapter, since it didn't flow as nicely as I wanted it to…but I hope it cleared some stuff up?.**

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW. THEY HELP ME UPDATE FASTER :D**

**-RobinXZatanna**


	3. Imprint

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**On to the show!  
><strong>

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><p>Artemis Crock was not in a good mood.<p>

She bit her pencil angrily as her teacher droned on and on about some historical event she could care less about.

She sighed with relief as the bell finally rang. In one quick motion her backpack was on her shoulder and she was jogging out the door.

She stared at the ground with an expressionless face as she walked down the hallway.

Two days ago her world stood still. Two days ago Young Justice lost a team member. Two days ago she lost a little brother.

As she neared her locker she looked around expecting the small blue-eyed boy who she had grown quite fond of to come skip over and greet her. Today she really needed his suffocating good mood. She frowned when he didn't show. They had lockers adjacent to each other and he usually beat her there.

She pressed her forehead against her locker and blew some air out of her nose, still anticipating him to come running over.

She became annoyed and moved slightly over so that she was standing directly in front of his locker.

She tapped her foot and continued to wait.

"Waiting for someone?"

She looked up and met eyes with Bette Kane.

"Hey Bette, yeah I am actually, you seen Dick around at all?"

"Little nerdy freshman?" She smirked knowing that her teasing always pissed her off.

"Word is that withdrew him from the academy a couple of days ago to go on some cruise in the Caribbean for a few months."

Artemis furrowed her brow. "But…he didn't even say good-bye…."

Bette gripped her books and turned as she began to walk to her next class.

"I wouldn't take it to heart, I guess it was unexpected, he didn't say good-bye to anyone."

* * *

><p>To say Central City was a disaster was a complete understatement.<p>

News of the Boy Wonder's "demise" had spread quicker and farther than the League would have liked.

News Crews and crowds of concerned and curious people alike swarmed the now completely dismantled pizza shop.

No one was going to be getting very close however. Three Green Lanterns stood motionless around the whole area of the building debris. Directly behind them was a green dome shaped energy field wonderfully placed there by willpower.

The only people who would be able to get near any wreckage or evidence would be League members, and they wished to keep it that way.

* * *

><p>"This is Iris Allen reporting from 2nd Street in Central City."<p>

"We have just entered Day 2 of the "Search for the Boy Wonder."

The camera panned out to get a closer view of the force field.

"As you can see the League is keeping outside police and forensic teams out of the case until further notice."

"Hope has begun to dwindle down of finding the missing teen alive as they continue to search through the rubble."

She paused for a moment and looked out past the cameraman as she listened to what her supervisor said.

"Ladies and Gentleman I've just received word that we have someone being escorted on to the premises as we speak from Gotham who has no affiliation with the League."

She looked behind her as she saw the crowd disband slightly to apparently let some people through.

"This may very well be the first outsider allowed on the crime scene."

Iris and her team along with the cameraman jogged closer to the area where this "outsider" was supposed to show.

Finally the figures were revealed.

A slightly aged man with a mustache walked calmly through the crowd as his long overcoat blew steadily in the breeze.

He was followed by a block of a man and a woman with her black hair done tightly in a braid.

Iris turned to the camera.

"It seems that they have brought in Commissioner Gordon and a few of his detectives from Gotham City."

Batman appeared from the opposing side of the shield as he bent over and bagged some evidence.

The commissioner stopped in front of Hal Jordan, Green Lantern, and stared past to make eye contact with the Batman.

Hal looked behind him and the Batman gave him a nod of approval.

He nodded back with understanding and used his ring to open a small human sized hole in the force field.

The Commissioner nodded his thanks and stepped through.

Hal just closed the hole as Bullock came barreling through in an attempt to follow the Commissioner inside the "taped off" area.

Bullock glared at Hal. "Let me in."

Kyle Rayner stepped forward and poked the man hard in the chest.

"Hold up there big fella, Batman wants the Commissioner only. NOT YOU. Got it?"

Hal smirked. "Either you back up, or we could just sic Wonder Woman on you."

With the mention of her name, Diana looked up and out toward them from the shield as she gently laid down a piece of debris and came walking over at a slow pace.

If looks could kill, Bullock would have been 6 feet under by now.

Kyle leaned over and whispered in his ear. "She's kinda like a mother to the little guy, a mother bear, if you will."

"And you know what mother bears do to protect their cubs?"

Hal's mouth opened with a grin that just leaked sarcasm.

"You get eaten, don't cha?"

Kyle smirked back and lifted a finger in the air.

"Right you are, Hal!"

By this time Wonder Woman was directly in front of them, save for the shield of course.

She eyed Bullock. "Do we have a problem over here?"

Montoya grabbed the overgrown man's shoulder and yanked him in the opposite direction.

She smiled slightly. "We were just leaving. Best of luck with your search."

With that, she turned on her heel and drug the man back into the crowd.

Commissioner Gordon walked toward the Batman steadily as he removed his glasses and rubbed them clean with a small cloth.

He stood at attention to face the Bat as he placed them back over his eyes.

"Jim."

"Batman, I am..." He paused.

"Is there anything I can do? If you need—"

He placed a gloved hand in the air.

"There's only one thing I need to ask of you."

He pointed a few feet away.

"Follow me."

* * *

><p>Zatanna threw her face deeper into her pillow.<p>

This week sucked. Correction, this had to be the worst week of her life.

First she made the stupid mistake of using the helmet when the whole team practically begged her not to. Then she thought the worst was over when Nabu released her. Nope. Her father had taken her place. This left her practically an orphan. She had moved in to the cave even though the boxes of her stuff remained packed. She was sure that her father would be returned to her soon and she would get to go home.

And that's when she heard what had happened at the Pizza Shop.

And that's when she retreated to her room again.

And that's when she remembered the last conversation she had with the Boy Wonder. More importantly, the last words she said to him.

"_Listen, Zee, I-I know what you're going through."_

"_You think?" Were your parents ever taken hostage by some all powerful supernatural being? I don't think so!"_

"_No…but….I mean….."_

"_Exactly! You have no idea!" _

_And she slammed the door in his face._

"_I'm sorry Zee, I….."_

"_The team and I are gonna go out for pizza….I'd really like if you came…be with people that care about you…._

_It may not seem like it, but it's the best thing you can do….and…."_

"_I don't want any freaking pizza! I want my dad!"_

"_I know..but I-"_

"_STAY OUT OF MY LIFE AND LEAVE ME ALONE!"_

_She immediately clasped a hand over her mouth. She really didn't mean to say that._

_There was silence on the other end of the door. She immediately threw it open._

_He was gone._

_She bit her lip and shuffled back to her bed._

"_I'll make sure to give him a REALLY good apology when the team gets back."_

_She laid down knowing that everything would be ok soon._

Although she'd never get the chance to apologize.

Young Justice came back that day missing a member.

* * *

><p>Artemis ran a finger through her hair as she stepped through the zeta beam.<p>

She stalked into the kitchen where M'gann was busy baking and Wally was sitting at the counter with his head slumped over his arms.

His eyes were listless and had lost that bright green shine to them.

She ruffled his hair in order to annoy him and perhaps make him smile or something; it didn't work.

She looked to M'gann. "Where's Kaldur?"

She set down a bowl and looked to Artemis. "He's having a meeting with Red Tornado."

"Zatanna?"

"She's been keeping herself locked in her room all this time."

"What about Connor?"

She sighed and looked to her side.

"He found Wolf scratching and whimpering at Rob—"his" door today. So he took him to play fetch out on the beach."

"I see."

Artemis grabbed a stool and sat a few inches away from Wally.

M'gann turned and tried to put on a smile.

"I made you cookies Wally! Your favorite!"

His eyes moved to look at her and settled back on to the counter.

"No thanks, M'gann, I'm not hungry…."

Her mouth opened a little in shock.

"But….But…you're always hungry!"

Artemis held her head up and looked at the sad little speedster.

"You want some leftover pizza or something? I'll heat it up for you Baywatch."

"I said I'm not hungry."

She tilted her head with concern.

"When is the last time you ate something?"

He looked up as if he was thinking and coolly replied.

"Eh..I don't know…maybe 2 days ago."

She furrowed her eyebrows. _2 days! Wasn't that like 3 months in their time?_

"Wally! Think of your freaking metabolism! Your stomach is probably trying to eat itself by now. You need to eat so you can you know, do that thing you do? Oh right, RUN."

He sighed heavily.

"Haven't ran in two days."

This was completely unnatural.

"Ok, let's go play Call of Duty….or play tag or something. Whatever YOU want to do."

"I don't feel like running or playing COD."

"Wally-I"

He stood up and rubbed his shoulder. "I'm going to go take a nap or something."

And with that he walked slowly, almost too slowly, back to his room and shut the door.

* * *

><p>He kicked off his shoes and headed for his bed. He began to lay his head down steadily on his pillow when something hard on the inside of the pillowcase connected with the side of his face.<p>

He rubbed his head annoyingly and began to fish around for the cause of it.

He gave a puzzle look when his fingers wrapped around a VHS tape.

It turned it over a few times before he found a small note taped to the side of it.

"Wally. Read this."

He cautiously removed the tape and his eyes scanned the note.

"Wally, I need you to show this video to the team, the WHOLE team. Whether they like it or not, this needs to be seen. Just make sure the League isn't around when you do watch it."

-Rob

Getting out of bed he threw open his door and took long strides back to the kitchen.

Artemis and M'gann were still moping around and looked up when he came back in.

He held the small tape up in the air and raised his eyebrows.

"There's something we need to see."

* * *

><p>Sun shined through the large window landing on the sleeping occupant's closed eyelids.<p>

He groaned as his eyelids fluttered open. That's when panic set in.

Habit forced his hands to immediately grab for his face.

His mind relaxed greatly when his fingertips touched the fabric over his eyes.

His mask was still there, a good sign.

The grogginess from the sedatives slowly started to subside as his vision became clearer.

He quickly scanned the room. He'd never admit it, but this could very well be as, or even nicer than his room in the mansion.

The room was very large. He realized that was he was on what seemed to be a king size bed. It was meticulously cleaned and pristinely wrinkle free-save for the spot that he had been lying on. Alfred would have been proud of the room's overall pristine condition.

There was a dresser off in the corner and a large mirror mounted to the wall beside it.

In the opposite corner of the room stood a lone rocking chair with _his costume and belt_ draped over it.

The whites of his mask turned to slits as he cautiously pulled back the covers.

He was wearing a long white button down shirt with a long green cloak and black pants with bare feet.

He made the connection that he probably looked like a mini-me of Ra Al Ghul. He shuddered as that thought entered his mind.

Then another thought entered his mind. _Someone had to have changed him, which meant that he would have been…_

He gasped. "Oh-god…"

He immediately jumped off the bed and ran to the door. He peered out from a small slit and opened it slowly.

He met eyes with Ra Al Ghul himself.

The man clapped his hands together.

"You're awake! Wonderful!"

"Let's have some tea and we can "get to know each other."

Before he had time to issue a reply two guards appeared out of nowhere and began to usher him behind the all-powerful Ra.

Somehow Robin knew "tea and getting to know each other" would be anything but that.

* * *

><p>Young Justice was all huddled around the small TV in Kid Flash's bedroom.<p>

M'gann and Connor were sitting together on the floor hands intertwined while Zatanna remained closest to the door clutching a pillow. Kaldur stood beside her, looking on with bated breath. Artemis and Wally sat a few feet away from each other on the edge of his bed.

Everyone held their breath as the tape started to come into focus.

Suddenly the screen faded out to black as Robin's face came into view.

He was leaning on a chair in his classic green sweatshirt and sunglasses directly in front of the camera.

He waved to the camera and managed a small smile.

"Hey guys…" He averted his eyes to the ground.

"If you're watching this, it probably means I didn't make it during a mission."

"I'm honestly not sure why…I'm really making this….but I guess it's mostly for closure. For you guys…"

The team simultaneously looked at each other with puzzled looks.

"Whatever _happened_ to me…it isn't any of your faults….if anyone is at fault here….it's me."

Kaldur's eyes became especially glued to the screen.

"And Zatanna…I'm not mad at you for lashing out like that. Things _will _get better. You're surrounded by people that really care about you. I should know."

Zatanna's eyes widened slightly before a small tear leaked out the side of her left eye. _He forgave her. _

"If I wasn't dead at this point, I'd say Batman would kill me for what I'm about to do…"

Wally eyed the screen as Robin's hands reached up to his face.

"The thing is I think you all deserve to know who the kid behind the mask is."

In one swift motion his glasses were snatched off of his face to reveal closed eyelids.

The team all stared wide-eyed at the screen. _Did he just?_

Seconds later they opened up to reveal such bright blue and shining eyes.

M'gann, Zatanna, and Artemis did their best to hide their swooning.

"My name is Dick Grayson, of the Flying Graysons."

"My family was brutally murdered when I was 9 by a man named Tony Zucco.

From there I teamed up with Batman under the alias of Robin and brought him to justice, Batman and I have been partners ever since."

Everyone's mouth was wide open in shock.

Robin looked to his left nervously.

"I don't have much time….but"

He snapped his fingers.

"I could never forget your birthday, Wally."

"Since I probably won't be able to celebrate it with you, I took the liberty of getting your present early. Look for it under the bed in my room. It's got yellow wrapping paper and a red bow. You can't miss it."

"I wish I had the chance to hug you all just one more time."

"This isn't a team any more. We're family."

Robin smiled at the camera once more before the screen went black.

Zatanna was choking sobs into her pillow while M'gann cried on Connor's shoulder.

Kaldur's face had deep hurt plastered on it while Artemis just stared blankly at the blackened screen.

Kid Flash took a deep breath and went to the TV where he proceeded to eject the tape.

Zatanna looked up from her pillow. "What are you doing Wally?"

He turned and looked back at her as he stopped in the doorway, video in hand.

"I need to have a talk with Batman."

* * *

><p><strong>Sorry if that was rushed and extremely long, I'm just not sure when I'll be able to update again. Rest assured, there will be more Robin, Ra Al Ghul, and Talia interaction in the next chapter!<strong>

**As always, don't forget to review! (I will seriously love you forever XD) **

**-RobinXZatanna **


	4. I Miss Him

**Hey Everyone! I first want to apologize for my update delay. I've just come to the conclusion that school has made threats on my life. I know, what your thinking, I should be worried. However, I'm not. I called Batman, guys. Everything will be alright. He's gonna take care of that "school" problem for me, so that I can actually update on time XD**

**Yeah I really need to stop trying to make jokes. Anywho, this is a very Wally-Centric chapter, and it turned out a bit more sad than I wanted it to...oh well. Don't worry, though, we will definitely be seeing some violence and fights next chapter. :D**

**And as always, HUGE THANK YOU TO ALL REVIEWERS**/**ALERTERS! YOU GUYS ARE ALL AWESOME.:D**

**Well, now that my babbling is over, ON TO THE STORY! :)  
><strong>

* * *

><p>"SUPRIZE!"<p>

Wally West had just paraded through the mountain's zeta beam just as it announced it was going offline. He had made it just in time.

The team was crowded around him with smiling faces and food galore that M'gann had made.

The team had made a pact to put on a brave and smiling face, for Wally, for his birthday.

Wally had made a pact with himself to put on a brave face for his teammates.

And there he was eating cake like there was no tomorrow. He was forcing a gleeful smile as his teammates laid presents on the table.

Artemis leaned against a desk while Zatanna stood next to her.

Artemis frowned as he was being "his usual Wally self" and openly flirting with M'gann.

Zatanna suddenly elbowed her, shaking her from her glare. "You gonna tell him?"

Artemis shook her head and looked to her side. "Later, I don't want to be the one that has to give him anymore bad news."

They continued on with their conversation until Red Tornado's voice came over the intercom.

"Report for mission briefing."

They all raised their eyebrows, but filed out of the room nonetheless.

Black Canary and Red Tornado stood in the middle of the room.

Kid Flash listened half-heartedly as they went through the briefing and everyone's duties.

Batman hadn't made an appearance in days, so it was up to Black Canary and Tornado.

He suddenly became aware of the silence that enveloped the room.

He looked up and realized Canary, Tornado, and the whole team was staring at him with concern.

"Do you understand what you need to do, Kid Flash?"

Canary reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "N-no…sorry, I zoned out for a minute."

Black Canary turned to the team. "You guys go on ahead, I need to have a talk with Kid Flash."

The team staggered behind for a few moments before following Red Tornado out.

She turned back to Kid Flash again. "Wally, I know you're still upset….we all are….but we need you to stay focused. We have a very important mission, there's a princess, and she needs a heart transplant…"

He immediately straightened his posture and lowered his goggles to his face. "Just tell me where to go, I'm on it."

* * *

><p>The small cup of tea in front of Robin suddenly became the most interesting thing in the world, as his eyes remained fixated on the light brown liquid.<p>

"Something's troubling you." It was more of a statement than a question.

Robin immediately looked up at Ra who was sipping his tea.

Robin let his eyes roll to his left. "Well, a few things are actually."

_Namely how I ended up as a Ra mini-me. Gross._

"Well, go on then. I'd like to hear them."

"Not that I don't appreciate the wonderful hospitality and everything, but uh, where's the dark gloomy dungeon? The chains? The emotional abuse? Crowbar beatings?

Robin stopped and looked him directly in the eye.

Ra took a breath and tapped a finger on his teacup.

"Is this what you make the stereotypical villain out to be? Some psychopath that gets enjoyment out of beating and abusing children? My, you have much to learn my dear boy."

"I…well…."

"I have no intentions of causing you harm. Treat others as you wish to be treated, that is how the saying goes, correct?"

"Well yes…"

Ra brought his knuckles up to his chin. "Talia, fetch me my sword."

Robin hadn't even noticed the woman standing next to the door.

"Of course, father."

Robin was sure of one thing, and one thing only. Some serious shit was about to go down. And he would be lying if he said he wasn't worried.

* * *

><p>"Mr. Kid Flash, sir."<p>

Kid Flash lifted his chin slightly and turned to look at the little girl on the hospital bed.

He was relaxing in a chair beside it and didn't realize he had nodded off.

He watched as the small royal child gingerly lifted herself off the bed while her bodyguards guided her down gently.

She was now facing in front of him.

"My kingdom, I mean I-it was an honor to meet you…."

She immediately leapt forward and wrapped her arms tightly around him in a bone-crushing hug, not minding either one of their injuries.

"Thank you."

He patted her back gently.

"Your welcome, your highness."

* * *

><p>"Take it easy, Wally."<p>

The Flash whispered to his nephew as he guided him through the hospital doors.

He frowned when he saw the huge amounts of reporters out there.

"Alright, kido, ready to go?"

He sighed. "Sure."

The Flash lifted him as gently as he could so he was on his uncle piggyback.

He tilted his head back to look at KF. "I'm gonna get you a few miles away from here. Iris will be waiting with her car to take you back home, I'd take you home myself, but I need to head up to the Watchtower."

Kid Flash simply nodded.

The Flash grimaced when he realized he was surrounded by reporters.

He frowned even more when it wasn't them who they wanted to talk to.

"Kid Flash, Kid Flash! Any word on the Queen's condition? Has Vandal Savage been captured?"

The last question, which was the loudest, made the Flash want to pull a Batman and beat the shit out of the reporters.

"Has the League issued a date for the Boy Wonder's funeral?"

Kid Flash buried his head in his uncle's back.

Flash stepped forward and growled "No comment" before pushing through the crowd and taking off.

* * *

><p>Iris Allen was deeply worried about her nephew. The happy go lucky freckle faced goofball she loved having in her life had become a distant memory.<p>

She was used to him jumping around and jabbering at 40 miles an hour and begging her to stop at a McDonalds, well any place that sold food, that is.

Instead he had his head resting against the headrest and was practically still.

His thumb rubbed the fabric of his blue jacket, but other than that he was motionless and lethargic.

She suddenly remembered the muffins she had made earlier that morning, blueberry to be exact. One of Wally's favorites. She had packed one in her purse.

"Wally, if you go in my purse in the glove compartment I have a muffin for you."

She directed a friendly smile at him as she directed him toward the compartment.

He put his hand up. "No thanks, Aunt Iris. I had a granola bar and some orange juice before I left the hospital."

"That's fine, Wallace, but that was hours ago."

He made no move to say anything else.

She had another idea.

"Let's see if there is anything on the radio." She recalled her nephew's fondness of the upbeat music like Hot Chelle Rae or 3oh!3, she was hoping maybe that would get his mind off things for a few moments and perhaps make him feel better.

She pressed the power button and waited for the station to come in. It came in loud and clear and she would really regret that.

_He rocks in the treetops all the daylong!_

_Hopping and a bopping and singing his song,_

_All the little birds on Jaybird Street_

_Love to hear the Robin go tweet tweet tweet! _

Before the happy voice of the singer could go on any longer, she slammed the power button again as the singer's words were abruptly cut off.

Her husband would have been really proud of those quick reflexes.

Wally's eyes glazed over before he turned and looked out the window.

Iris sighed heavily before sinking down in her seat slightly and gripping the wheel tighter.

* * *

><p>Kid Flash decided it was a good time to open that present that Robin had hidden under his bed for him.<p>

He locked his door and lay on his bed. He immediately began tearing through the brightly colored wrapping paper, not noticing that on the inside something was written. The discarded paper fell carelessly to the floor. Unfortunately the colorful, vibrant side was up which didn't show the hidden message in calligraphy on it.

He set the box of chocolates off to the side. He couldn't resist the smile that formed on his face when he wrapped his hands around a small book labeled "Family Photos".

He gingerly opened the cover and came upon a group shot of the team smiling and huddled together, like the family they were.

He stayed there just paging through the album for about 20 minutes. There were photos of absolutely everyone. M'gann posing with her cookbook, Artemis cleaning some arrows, Wally passed out on the couch with a marker mustache (courtesy of our favorite little troll) Kaldur being chill, and Superboy showing off his muscles. Sure, they were a pretty dysfunctional family, but a family nonetheless.

He finally came upon the last page. It was a group shot of the team again, like on the first page, however this one was altered. Robin was completely cut out of the picture.

Below the picture was a sticky note. Wally eyed it carefully and his breath hitched.

_Just let it go. I know you can, Wally._

_You've got the whole team there for you. _

_-Rob_

He shook his head with dismay. "Sorry, Rob, but I can't do that."

He flipped past the last page and settled his eyes on the pocket of the album. He pulled out the small slightly crumpled photo.

A tear ran down his face. There was a little 9-year-old Robin and an 11-year-old Kid Flash sticking their tongues out at the camera with grins that practically took up their whole faces. He remembered that day, very well. It was the day they got to spend up at the Watchtower. He and Rob had just about terrorized everyone they could.

He remembered how pissed Batman was that Robin had almost gave Hal Jordan a heart attack.

He had hidden in the supply closet and when Hal opened the door he jumped down with his cape splayed out and yelled "Fear me!" as loud as he could.

Kid Flash remembered how he was so close to peeing himself he was laughing so hard.

_His little brother. _

Wally laid the photo on top of the album and placed it gently on the nightstand.

He then put his head in his hands. And that is when he allowed himself to really cry.

* * *

><p>Kid Flash took a deep breath as his shaking fingers pushed open the main gates overlooking the Wayne Manor, home of one of Gotham's Elite.<p>

He sped up to the door and gasped at the sheer size of the building. He reached around to his backpack and patted the precious cargo inside reassuringly.

He reached over and clasped his fingers over the knocker. He slammed it down once, twice, three times, before he released it from his grasp and returned his hands to his sides.

He tapped his foot anxiously on the stair before he saw the great door was being opened.

He came face to face with an older British man in a suite. Alfred. Obviously. "Wally West" had been here numerous times to visit his friend "Dick Grayson"

The older man suddenly spoke with a surprised tone. "My! Master Bruce! We've got a very special visitor!"

The butler immediately ushered him inside. He stared at the grand crystal chandelier placed in the huge main room.

"May I get you something?"

Kid Flash waved him off. "I'm fine, but thank you."

"Please don't hesitate to ask if you would like something later."

He looked at the staircase and saw Gotham's playboy, Bruce Wayne descending down the stairs.

Kid Flash looked up to the man.

"Hello..sir.."

He immediately stuck his hand out in an effort to lighten some tension.

The billionaire smiled and shook his hand. "I must say it is quite an honor to have someone like you here. To what do I owe the honor?"

Kid Flash stuttered. "I….um…..is there somewhere private we can talk?"

The billionaire raised an eyebrow before motioning with his hand to the dining hall. "We can continue this conversation over there if you like."

Kid Flash settled himself uneasily on the mahogany chair before placing his backpack on the table.

He undid the zipper on it and pulled out the videotape as Bruce gave him a curious look.

"What is this?"

"Mr. Wayne. I know."

He tilted his head. "What exactly are you talking about?"

"Well, I know for a fact that you are going to shove a batarang up my ass for what I'm about to tell you."

"Excuse me?"

"Dick Grayson. Thirteen years old. Attends Gotham Academy. Best friends with Wally West, AKA me.

Robin. Boy Wonder. Partner to Batman. Dynamic Duo. Member of Young Justice."

He gulped. "Who also…died…a few days ago….."

"Mr. Wayne, I know that they are one in the same. Dick is Robin. Robin is Dick."

He gulped even more now.

"I also know, Mr. Wayne, that you are Batman."

He sucked in a breath and waited for a batarang to come whizzing out of nowhere and collide with his face. It never came.

Bruce Wayne sat there and looked intently at the speedster.

"I assume Dick told you then?"

"Y-yes sir….but no one else knows, I swear."

He curled his fingers over the tape.

"I wanted to show you this."

He gently slid the plastic rectangle towards Batman.

The Batman immediately stood up and motioned for Wally to follow him.

Kid Flash gaped at the site of the Batcave. It was pretty freaking awesome. He also took pride in the fact that he was one of the very few outsiders who got to see it.

He was shaken from his thoughts when he heard a low growl. He looked down and saw a Great Dane baring its teeth at him. _Ace._

Batman waved his hand to the side. "Down Ace, it's fine."

The dog gave Wally a look before turning around and travelling over to a glass case.

Kid Flash looked over and saw Batman had headed over to the case as well.

He walked over and bit his tongue when he saw what was in it. _Robin's cape._

Not only was it his, but it was the one covered in blood and bodily fluids.

He watched as Batman put on latex gloves and with the utmost care took it out of the case.

"I've been collecting various DNA samples off of this. So far, nothing abnormal."

The black and yellow fabric hung loosely in his hands, almost touching the ground.

Ace walked over and put his nose up to sniff it. Almost instantaneously he backed up a few steps and pinned his ears to the back of his head.

He showed off his pearly white canines as his hair began to rise up on his back.

That's when he let out a loud growl, even more menacing than the one he had directed at Wally.

Wally narrowed his eyes. "What's gotten into him?"

Batman immediately took the cape out of the dog's reach and looked to Wally.

"I'm not sure, it seems Robin was near something or _someone_that Ace is not fond of….."

* * *

><p><strong>So there we go! Chapter 4! :D And do not fret folks! We will see some action in the next chapter! Not to be a spoiler, but Ra and Robin will NOT be getting along, and he did want Talia to fetch his sword...Stay tuned for Chapter 5! Coming soon to a Young Justice Fandom near you! :D<strong>

**Enough of my crappy jokes. You OBVIOUSLY want to review, right? Pssh! Of course!**

**Well what are you waiting for? Right down there folks! Press it! PWEASE :D  
><strong>


	5. Atleast Someone Has a Soul

**Yay! Chapter 5! :P**

**52 alerts! That's freaking awesome!**

**And as always your reviews have made writing this such a pleasure, like really :P**

**And on a side note, on today's new episode of YJ, did anyone else think that Roy looked like a huge bowl of sexy in this episode? I did, so I had to include him in this chapter XD**

**Can we make it to 12 reviews for this chapter? YES of course we can! :)**

**And as promised, we're diving in to the Robin whump (many of you have asked about it) :D**

**WARNING: This chapter contains insinuated sexual references(), depiction of gore( WHUMP!), and a pissed of Robin, Speedy, JLA, ok well you get the picture, just about everyone is pissed off. **

**ON TO THE STORY!**

* * *

><p>Robin eyed the man carefully as he unsheathed his sword and laid it on the space between them on the table.<p>

He noticed Robin staring and smiled.

"Please, don't end our conversation on my account. My sword just gets dirty so easily. You'd think blood would come out a lot easier than it does."

He produced a small rag from his robe pocket and began meticulously cleaning the blade.

Robin hid a gulp.

"Well, go on then. You must have _something _to say, you are a teenager after all."

"I want to know why."

Ra tilted his head upward. "Why, what?"

"Why you accepted my deal. I mean I'm grateful you did, but….why?"

Ra sighed. "Desperation."

"Excuse me?"

The man looked closer at the boy and rubbed his thumb over his knuckle.

"What makes you so special? Now be specific."

"What do you-"

"Can you accelerate and cover distances at the speed of sound? Do you have the strength and stamina of Superman? Or perhaps, do you have the abilities to delve into one's subconscious such as your Martian friend?"

"N-no, those are my team mates-they-"

"Then please educate me, why on earth would the League put a small weakling child in a team of meta humans?"

Robin slammed his fist on the table. "I am not a weakling! I can handle myself. I help the team!"

Ra smiled crookedly.

"Are you sure you are not a liability to them? A well-aimed shot from a sniper could quickly take you out in a matter of seconds. Your meta "friends" could simply outrun it, deflect it with their strength, or mentally send it elsewhere."

"…"

"I admit you are quite skilled. However, compared to the detective, well, I'd rather not say. There must be _some_ reason he keeps you around. It simply can't be your fighting skills, after all, since you lack the drive to kill and rely on your gadgets to get you out of situations. It also seems you rely on your meta friends, as well. You must burden them greatly that they have to look out for the one that could be killed so easily."

He continued to glide the cloth over his sword as he brought his eyes up slightly to see the reaction coming from the boy.

He noticed how his knuckles were turning white since he was clenching them so hard. He was angering him. _Perfect. _

"The other villains are starting to talk, you know. It raises eyebrows when a grown man runs around with a little boy in spandex during all hours of the night. Didn't he originally have you wear those little green britches, when you joined him? What reason could he possibly have for that? And the fact you seem quite bendable too, I suppose he gets a kick out of that as well, doesn't he? I've known the detective long before you came into the picture. I'd never thought he'd be one to do those sorts of things, but I suppose no man really knows what kind of things go on in his head.

Was that whole "Young Justice" team being created just a large cover up for what's really going on with the "Dynamic Duo?"

Screw all principles of controlling your emotions. All training of that sort went out the window. All Robin knew was pure rage. This man making accusations of such vile things as that. Taking the Dynamic Duo and twisting it into something so….wrong…

In one swift motion Robin lunged across the table and grabbed the man's collar tightly.

"Don't you EVER say anything like that EVER again."

He simply chuckled. "You passed."

Robin recoiled his hand from the collar. "I…what?"

Ra stood up and walked around behind the boy. He placed a hand on his shoulder and Robin couldn't help but flinch.

"You passed, my dear boy. There is still hope for you yet."

Robin looked up at him. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"In a moment of rage or with the proper motivation, you can turn cold and perhaps be capable of tasks a mere hero wouldn't even dream of. The detective would have maintained his cool throughout that, but you, you my dear boy, act on what angers you."

Robin studied the man's facial expression more.

"In short terms, Robin, we may make an assassin out of you, yet."

* * *

><p>Recognized-Red Arrow.<p>

The team was seated on the couch watching a TV show about a group of teens from different backgrounds who all teamed up and lived together and worked to keep their city and the world safe.

Everyone looked up as the zeta tubes announced the arrival. Everyone stared wide- eyed at each other for a moment. _None of them had told him about Robin….had the League? _

Well they were about to find out.

He stomped in and glared at the team who all immediately jumped up from their spots and walked over to him.

"H-Hey Speedy!"

"Don't even start. Where the hell is, Ollie?"

Kid Flash walked up to him. "The League just headed up to the watchtower for a meeting."

Roy smiled evily. _Beautiful._

* * *

><p>Superman nodded to all the League members seated around the long table.<p>

"Let's get this meeting underway."

Suddenly Martian Manhunter doubled over, falling out of his chair.

Within seconds Flash was by his side leaning him on his shoulder.

"You ok?"

"I am fine, Flash. But there is a disturbance in Mount Justice."

The members with protégés immediately stood up with concern on their faces.

The Martian waved his hand. "It is only Speedy, however he is demanding to be beamed up to the watchtower."

He took a breath and stole a glance at Batman. "It is about Robin."

Superman looked to Batman and back to the Martian. "Beam him up."

The League members all turned to face the archer as he arrived with his arms folded holding a small evidence bag.

Green Arrow and Black Canary bounded over. "Roy."

"Piss off Ollie, I have other things to worry about."

Green Arrow was taken aback but simply stepped aside as Black Canary placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened?"

He brushed her off and stomped to the table where he slammed his palms on.

"Yesterday I busted some armed robbers outside of Central, one of the thugs dropped this as he was being carted away and asked me to deliver it personally to the Batman."

He slid the small bag across the table, inches away from the caped crusader.

Batman glared at the archer for a moment before gingerly picking up the bag.

He opened it and reached a hand inside.

That's when he pulled out a small rectangular wood box, not any box; however, it was fashioned to look like a small coffin.

He narrowed his eyes slightly as he brought a finger over to lift up the side, like a coffin would open.

He almost vomited at the sight. Inside was a dead bird. It was positioned on its side with its wings and legs tucked in. It wasn't just any bird, though. There was no mistaking it. It was a _robin. _

Upon closer inspection the sight was even more gruesome. Wrapped around the bird was a small piece of yellow and black fabric, fashioned to look like a cape. Batman tilted it up slightly and noticed some of the little bird's blood was spattered on it.

The League members stood motionless, eyes trained on the small box.

After the cape was lifted off, he realized the throat on the bird was slit. That wasn't the most horrifying, however. He then realized that the bird's wings had been singed. More accurately the whole bird had been singed. Parts of the once shiny feathers were burned off or covered in black soot. It looked like someone had set it partially on fire, _or blown it up. _

Batman's eyes trained on a small slip of paper folded neatly beneath the bird. With shaking fingers he moved the bird upward slightly to gain access to the paper.

Successfully removing it, he unfolded the paper and grimaced as his read the note, no doubt written in _someone or something's _blood.

_Dear Batsy,_

_Sorry to hear about your little birdie. He was always so fun to joke around with. Guess my crowbar will just have to find a new friend… Is Flash boy available? HAHAHA! All of us here at Arkham look forward to your visit, after all, you wanna know who made birdie go boom, right?_

_Sincerely,_

_Mista J and your best buddies at Arkham. _

Batman growled and crunched the paper in his hand.

Red Arrow raised an eyebrow. "What'd it say?"

Batman stood up and turned on his heel. "Nothing. I'll be back, later. We'll have our meeting then."

No one made a move to stop the Dark Knight as he left the poor dead creature in the box on the League meeting table.

* * *

><p>"That'll never happen!" Robin spun on his heel and dove down under the table, barely missing the swipe of a sword.<p>

"Ah, my boy, it has already started. You could be a very skilled assassin….with the _proper motivation_ of course."

Ra kicked the table just as Robin sprung out from under it and balanced on one of the overturned chairs.

Robin took a leap to the left and a leap to the right dodging the oncoming point object flying at him.

"You wish!"

Ra smirked. "Not so tough without your utility belt, are you?"

Robin just laughed. "Please, old man, I could dodge your attacks all day, you may have your sword, but you're just too slow."

"Is that so?"

Robin didn't even have a chance to turn as the blade of the sword came in contact with the left side of his face. It successfully clipped off a small tuft of the ebony hair, but didn't stop there.

The blade kept going downward producing a deep cut above his eyebrow. That's when it reached the top of his mask and sliced through, right to his eye.

No amount of pain management could help him as he screamed when the blade connected with his opened eye.

He fell to one knee as the sword finally disconnected from his face.

He quickly brought a gloved hand up to his face in an effort to staunch the bleeding.

When his hand was securely patted over the eye he got up and took a wobbled fighting stance.

* * *

><p>Talia wasn't sure what had possessed her at the moment, but as she saw the small black haired boy fall to the ground, she realized she was running straight for the fallen hero.<p>

"Father, you must stop! He's hurt!"

Ra raised his sword toward her. "Talia, stay there. He needs to learn his place."

Talia covered her mouth with her hand and backed up slightly. She didn't dare disobey her father.

* * *

><p>Ra inched closer to the boy who took this as an opportunity to lash out once more. He coiled back his right hand in a fist and almost made contact. Instead, Ra grabbed his forearm with such force that the Boy Wonder was brought back down to his knees. Ra smiled evilly as he brought the boy's arm back behind his back further, receiving a small yelp from the downed boy as his reward.<p>

He smile didn't fade as he took the boy's hand and bent back quickly. A sharp crack resounded throughout the room from his actions.

Robin threw his head back and yelled. This was enough to increase the blood flow from his damaged eye. In the midst of pain he managed to clamp his hand over the bleeding area even harder.

Ra satisfied in the pain he caused, connected a shoe with the side of the small frame and caused him to topple over on his side, breathing heavily and still clutching his eye.

The man walked a few steps before he turned back to the downed boy before smirking. He tilted his head to the side. "Silly me, I must have forgotten."

He looked at his sword and narrowed his eyes at the blood dripping off of it.

"This sword is laced with poison."

Robin's good eye widened slightly.

Ra grinned as he walked out of the room.

"Being old makes you forgetful I suppose."

He chuckled before completely disappearing from sight.

* * *

><p>Robin remained still in the ground. He was not looking forward to getting up.<p>

Before he could even strategize what his next move would be, he felt slender hands gingerly grip around his underarms. His vision was swimming for a moment as this mystery person had lifted-half dragged him to a chair.

Finally, when he was seated he got a good look at the person who had helped him up.

Talia Al Ghul.

She put a hand on his shoulder. With some of his dwindling energy he shook it off angrily.

"D-Don't t-touch me."

A small look of concern flashed on her face a moment before it returned to a stoic expression.

"I only wish to help you, you're hurt."

"No shit." He hissed.

She was taken aback by his sudden change in demeanor, but managed a small smile.

"Big mouth for such a little child."

He glared at her through his good eye. That's when he started to feel nauseous, the poison no doubt.

His vision was beginning to swim as well, not to mention he could barely slur words out as well.

"-oison aking- ffect"

That's when he felt himself start to fall forward. He had no energy left to even try to catch himself.

He was bracing for the impact of his face connecting with the floor, but it never happened.

Those same slender arms were holding him steady so he wouldn't topple over.

He felt the sensation of being lifted and realized that she was carrying him.

She rested her chin on the crown of his head and he curled himself up slightly.

He remembered some nights when Bruce would carry him up to his room like this. You wouldn't know it, but the Batman was a good father.

Smiling at the memory of this he tucked his head closer to her under her chin.

Surprise flashed over her face but it was gone in an instant, not like he'd notice anyway.

"You'll be fine."

His senses were fading and her words came to him in a whisper. Even so, he closed his eyes, welcoming the blackness.

After all, he honestly believed her.

* * *

><p><strong>Woohoo! That wraps up chapter 5 folks. I'm hoping to be able to update a chapter or 2 since Spring Break is starting! FINALLY!<strong>

**And I totally made Talia be all motherly. What has the world come to!**

**And want to hear a funny story? I was actually highly considering ending this story here, but then my little voice of reason basically came barreling in and yelled: ARE YOU CRAZY? Long story short, don't worry guys, we've got quite a few chapters left for ya'll to enjoy :)  
><strong>

**Anywho, Reviews are GREATLY appreciated. It makes me feel all special when people say their looking forward to the next chapter and such. :3**

**And as a little spoiler for the next chapter, we will have the League meeting, and I will mention, there is going to be A LOT of yelling...and...well...you'll see :)**

**REVIEW PLEASE! BUTTON IS DOWN THERE...click it, you know you want to :D**

**-RobinXZatanna**

**P.S-Just to clarify since I didn't make it clear, Ra paid various villains in Arkham to stage some sort of mockery like thing to send to Batman. Ra's hope is that this will throw off the Dark Knight and he'll go after villains in Arkham instead of looking for Ra. As of now, everyone is assuming that Robin's "killer" is one of the villains in Arkham. I'll shed more light on that later :)  
><strong>


	6. Matters in Our Own Hands

**Yeah I totally updated :P**

**Ok, first order of business, as always THANK YOU FOR THE KIND REVIEWS! Second, I don't know if I'll update till next week, since tomorrow (the 5th) is my birthday! Wee! **

* * *

><p><em>Blackness.<em>

That's all Robin could see, or maybe what he couldn't see?

Memories came flooding back to him. His eye. His eye had been cut badly, and he ended up fighting Ra while only being able to see out of one eye. _ Beautiful. _

Not to mention he lost badly as well.

He was freaked out. He couldn't see out of either eyes, and as far as he knew he wasn't blindfolded or anything.

When he went to lift an arm to reach for his face, he found he couldn't.

Struggling slightly he realized he was fastened to the bed by what appeared to be leather straps. _Awesome. _

"How long do you suppose it will be till he finds a replacement?"

The voice belonged to Ra.

Robin whipped his head around focusing on where the sound was originating from.

He settled with looking intently to his left assuming the man was standing somewhere in that direction.

"What?"

"Are your ears not working as well? I said, how long will it be till the detective finds a replacement?"

Robin tilted his head slightly in confusion. "What do you mean by that?"

"Are all teenagers so aloof? I want to hear your thoughts on how long it will be until the Detective finds someone to replace you."

Robin frowned. "I got that part, but what makes you think I'm getting replaced?"

Ra chuckled. "You'll most certainly be replaced my dear boy. Look how long it took that Green Arrow fellow to find a replacement for his….Speedy...was it?

I'm sure our lovely detective will have no problem finding someone who would love to be the "new" Robin. Although, I'm unsure why."

"Bull. I am Robin. And I will _always _be Robin. I'm irreplaceable."

Ra actually laughed, which made Robin grimace in frustration.

"It's simply hilarious that you think so highly of yourself as an individual. I assume you also think the Detective is fond of you as well? Right?"

Robin tried to glare in his direction. "He is. We're partners."

"So simpleminded you are. You're his sidekick, child. A dime a dozen. One dies, there will be one next in line to take the spot."

"That's not true!"

"I can almost guarantee he is out now, walking the streets of Gotham looking for someone to replace you. Maybe he'll settle for some vagrant off the streets that he could "reform." Compared to what he had, as I can see, it would be a step-up."

That pissed him off.

He began wildly thrashing against the restraints. After all, they had to have a breaking point, right?

Ra sighed. "Talia, come put our former Boy Wonder back to bed. I grow tired of speaking to him. After all, _it _won't have time to work if he keeps waking up.

Robin stopped for a moment and yelled. "What to work?"

He heard footsteps as they came closer to the bed. That's when he smelled antiseptic and rubbing alcohol.

He started to thrash again when cold-gloved fingers wrapped around his arm and hastily pulled up the short sleeve.

He recognized these as Talia's, but they no longer were caring or sympathetic, these were cold and ruthless.

He struggled against the restraints as he felt a needle dive deep into his arm. He kept on yelling out to Ra who had either stopped listening or left the room

"What to work?"

"What to work?"

He felt his arm being released from the woman's grasp and realized the leather straps had been undone. Checking his arms quickly he realized he was no longer tethered there.

Now if he could just figure out a way to feel his way out of here, without his sight, he'd be golden.

He jumped off the bed and his feet connected with the wood floor.

He shot an arm out and realized Talia had also left the room, or she was out of reach.

He felt along until he found the wall and slowly stood up. He walked a couple paces before starting to feel lightheaded.

Even so, he kept slowly inching forward until he found what he assumed was a doorknob.

He clutched his fingers around it but almost immediately lost his grip. His limbs had suddenly grown heavy and he didn't even bother to suppress a yawn.

_Tranquilizer. _

He cussed under his breath as he fought to keep himself awake. It was a futile effort though as his legs gave out beneath him.

This time no one was there to catch him. His face slammed hard into the wooden floor with a thud. Not that it mattered; however, he was out cold before he even hit the ground.

* * *

><p>Zatanna walked nonchalantly down the hallway until she reached her destination.<p>

She knocked on the door softly. "Artemis! Hey can I borrow your blow dryer?"

No response. "Artemis? You in there?"

She turned the knob slowly and began to walk through the doorway.

Artemis wouldn't mind. They were practically sisters, besides she only needed the blow dryer for a minute anyway.

She walked through the doorway slowly and realized the lights were turned down slightly. She caught sight of Artemis lying on her bed still sleeping; she tiptoed over to her dresser where she proceeded to trip over, quite loudly, over a lump on the floor.

Surprisingly Artemis didn't stir. Zatanna turned her body and ended up sitting with her knees in the air when she came face to face with what had tripped her. A dog. Not just any dog, a greyhound; and not just any greyhound. Ace, the bat hound.

He was barring his teeth menacingly at her and was growing lowly.

Zatanna slid back slightly. "Easy boy….easy…"

_What the hell was Batman's dog doing here?_

Her question was about to be answered when she heard Artemis's voice. "Zatanna?"

Zatanna looked over and saw Artemis sitting straight up in her bed.

"I-uh…wanted to borrow your blow dryer, but um..." She averted her eyes to Ace who still was baring his teeth.

Artemis's mouth formed an "O' before she leaned over and smacked something hard beside her on the bed.

That's when Wally West immediately sat up, rubbing his head with annoyance. "What was that for, Arty?"

Artemis narrowed her eyebrows and pointed to Ace.

Wally immediately looked to Ace and then to Zatanna who was still rooted to the floor.

"Oh, shit. Ace! Down." Wally commanded in his best Batman voice impression.

The dog tilted his head to Wally before glancing back at Zatanna. The canine then hung his head slightly lower before turning around and walking over to a small blue dog bed in the corner of the room.

Wally jumped off the bed in an instant and helped Zatanna up. "Sorry about that, he's pretty protective."

Zatanna just shook her head. "It's fine, but what the hell is this?" She pointed to Artemis who was looking really self-conscious while balancing on her knees on the bed, and then pointed back to Wally who was turning a bright shade of red.

Artemis jumped off as well and stood in front of Zatanna.

"Well you see Wally was really depressed last night and…"

"So you slept with him?"

"Yes, no wait NO, no!"

She took a breath. "He came to uh….talk…and we fell asleep. There was absolutely no reproductive activity what so ever. And we're completely dressed and everything. NOTHING went on. Isn't that right, Wallace?"

She punched him in the arm.

"Oww- yes that is correct, I was sad, very very sad."

Zatanna smiled. "It's about damn time you two got together!" She patted them both on the shoulder. They simultaneously looked at each other. Wally mouthed, "Just go with it" and Artemis smiled.

"Rob and I were taking bets on how long it would be till you two got together."

Wally and Artemis managed to smile, even if it was just a little.

Zatanna looked to the ground.

"He won."

* * *

><p>"Let's get this meeting underway."<p>

The Justice League members had filed in a few moments before and were all sitting around the long table.

Superman looked to his papers and lifted his head. "First order of business"

He glanced over at Batman who was blankly staring at the table.

"Finding those responsible for Robin's death."

An eerie silence fell over the room.

Superman motioned to Batman and the Dark Knight stood up and glided over.

"Batman will be taking over this discussion."

Batman nodded as him and Clark switched places. The caped crusader was now in full view of the JLA.

"As you all have heard, Robin was pronounced dead after an explosion occurred at a restaurant the Young Justice team were dining at."

Many members bowed their heads, cussed out of anger, and a few let tears roll down their cheeks.

Hawkgirl piped up quickly. "If you don't mind me asking, Batman, what has been done with Young Justice?

"Council for them is being provided by Black Canary." He shifted his head to the woman who nodded in recognition.

Hawkgirl looked to the Batman again. "I'm glad, but that's not what I meant, I mean are they still safe in Mount Justice or have they been going on missions? What if this was the first step of an organized attack? Could whoever did this be gunning for the rest of the team? Are they going to try to pick off the children one by one or something? We've been left in the dark for days, Batman!"

At the conclusion of her statement members started to whisper amongst themselves, whether it be anger, hatred, or just sadness.

Superman stood up. "Everyone please just quiet down, your questions will be answered.

Hal leaned over to Kyle, a fellow green lantern. "Bullshit."

Kyle shook his head as a reaction to his comment, but truthfully he was thinking the same thing.

"As of right now, the team has only been allowed to fight alongside the League, once. The only exception was for Kid Flash, since he was needed to deliver a heart across country."

Booster Gold held his head upward.

"Wait a second, he was attacked by Vandal Savage and Count Vertigo along the trip, wasn't he? So you're saying he was sent ALONE on this job, without any backup?"

The whispers between members suddenly turned to slightly loud anger and confusion.

Batman kept his calm attitude despite the growing tension.

"We were not aware of the affiliation between the princess and Count Vertigo, Vandal Savage was hired as a distraction."

Voices started erupting from the group.

"And no one thought to check up on the kid?"

"He had not radioed for help, so we assumed…."

Wonder Woman slammed a fist on the table.

"You assumed?"

Hal Jordan stood up. "You know what else it means if you don't radio for help? If you're dead! He could have been dead, and you people _ASSUME _he's alright?"

Another voice of a league member rose above the other voices.

"He almost was! Did anyone see the news? He had to be admitted to the hospital, he got the crap beat out of him and his body was starting to eat itself!"

Shudders of fear and anger spread like wildfire at the newest installment.

Flash suddenly stood up.

"Everyone please just stop. We understand that it might not have been the best plan, or the safest. But my nephew, Wally, is healthy and safe back at Mount Justice. If anything, he's sick because he misses his friend so much it hurts. So if we could please get back to the matter at hand, Robin."

There was a second of silence at the Flash's emotional speech before cheers and smiles were sent his way; some members even began to clap.

He nodded to Batman and took his seat.

"Thank you, Flash."

"As for the matter at hand, concerning Robin, the case has been closed."

The whole table of members turned and stared at him. Blue Beetle tilted his head.

"You mean, you found who was responsible?"

Everyone turned to him with expectant eyes. They heard the Batman was good and fast at solving cases, but this fast? Wow.

"I have not, as of yet."

Wonder Woman narrowed her eyes. "Then how is this case "closed?"

Batman sighed. "It is closed to the Justice League. I will be solving this case solo, with no outside assistance."

His final statement unleashed hell on the room.

* * *

><p>The room had erupted into shouting, weapons being waved around, rings lighting up, and general chaos.<p>

Kyle took a death grip on Hal's elbow. "Man, don't do this."

Hal shook him off. "Please, I can handle an argument with an oversized Bat, besides, I'm not afraid of anything, remember?"

Kyle held his breath as Hal walked over to the Batman who was watching the other League members argue amongst themselves.

There was yelling on both ends until a small silence developed over the two quarreling men.

He breathed a sigh of relief until a batarang was produced from a utility belt, while the latter's ring began to glow.

_Crap._

Kyle flew over as fast as his ring would allow. He used his ring to construct two heavy-duty boxes that immediately formed around the two who were going to start fighting.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU FREAKING PEOPLE DO ALL DAY?"

The voice was loud and clear, which caused all the members to turn and look to the source. Green Arrow didn't even have to look.

Roy.

Standing in the doorway gnawing on a Snickers bar.

He walked through the overhang with a carefree expression.

"No wonder you people don't get anything done around here."

Ollie came over and looked at his ward. "What are you doing here, Roy?"

He swallowed more of the candy. "What? I can't come and visit?"

He slapped his knee. "Oh wait! I know why I'm here, I was supposed to relay a message."

The League had turned to face the archer. "Damn, I'm doing a lot of that this week."

"What message?" Canary suddenly spoke up.

"Oh yeah, the team's going to find out who blew up the restaurant."

"Like hell they are!" Batman said angrily.

Red Tornado and Batman returned glances. Red Tornado's mechanic voice replied.

"The hangars have been closed, the motorcycles and the Bio Ship will not be able to get through."

Roy smiled. "Oh, I forgot to mention, they left an hour ago. You would not **believe** that traffic, took me a while to get up here, plus, ya know, I wanted a Snickers bar, too young to buy beer, so I settled for some candy."

Ollie paled. They'd discuss his "habits" later.

Batman growled.

"Red Tornado, bring up the tracker history, we'll bring them back."

Roy waved his hand in the air as he took a seat at the table and kicked his feet up on the edge.

"Not sure how well that's going to work, considering their trackers are disabled."

Everyone turned to the archer again. "How'd they do that?"

Roy threw his head back on the chair and closed his eyes.

"Apparently Wally paid close attention to how Robin did things."

* * *

><p><strong>Yep, I totally made Wally even more badass XD. Our little feathered friend taught Wally some tools of the trade so to speak :P<strong>

**And since I didn't mention earlier about Ace, Wally had been given the duty since Batman would be away a lot, and they didn't want to burden Alfred, and Wally and him sorta bonded when he took off his KF costume since Ace was pretty good buddies with "Wally West". **

**And I apologize since this chapter is kinda a filler, but I wanted to make it sorta happy-ish :P And as a side note, did anyone get my little hinted (in the future) comic reference? *wink wink* Robin title *wink* ;D  
><strong>

**Questions? Comments? Concerns? Ask away!**

**And you totally want to review now, right? **

**Button is right down there folks! XD**


	7. One of Our Own

**Just to clarify I will reply to individual people for their reviews to chapter 6 tomorrow, I just really wanted to get this chapter up quick before I changed my mind. I'm not exactly sure where I was going with this but here it is.**

**HUGE THANKS TO ALL REVIEWERS, and I will get to your individual replies later! Promise!**

**And I'm really sorry about it being a mini chapter, but eh, what you gonna do?**

**On to Chapter 7! :D**

**(Sorry if the grammar is suckish, I'll run a more in depth check later)**

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><p>Light shined through the small cracks in the blinds on the bedroom window.<p>

Robin lifted an arm to shield his eyes from the light as he came to.

Then he realized. He smacked his head in a similar way to Miss Martian. Hello Robin!

He could see. He gingerly lifted his arms to his eyes and felt the mask there. There was no mistaking it, though. Both eyes were fully functional.

And he felt pretty good as well, no light headed feeling or anything. It was almost weird, he hadn't felt _this _good in a long time.

He looked around and realized he was in the same room as when he had first been brought here. The same bland color he recognized and his tunic, boots, and pants stacked neatly on the dresser were still there.

He also became aware of the woman sitting on a chair next to the bed, gazing at him intently.

She tilted her head and looked at him. "It is truly amazing the effects a mere few drops of lazarus can have on a child."

Robin looked at her with confusion. "W-what?"

She held up a small injection as the needle glittered slightly from the sun.

"Lazarus injections. A few ounces Lazarus mixed with some other choice chemicals completely healed your eyes and it seems the major cuts and bruises as well. Truly extraordinary."

Robin simply nodded, not knowing what else to say.

Talia rolled the syringe over in her hands a few times. "Perhaps you require more. Training will be quite strenuous for someone of your size."

"Training?"

"Of course. The only way to become a better assassin is through rigorous training. What else?"

She got off the chair and stalked toward him. "Now this might make you a bit tired."

Robin scurried backwards. "No I'm fine, no more, really. I'm good. Scout's honor." He wasn't really a boy scout but like she really needed to know that?

"Come along now, don't fight back, this can only aide you in the long run."

She roughly grabbed his arm. In return she received a kick to the stomach as he jumped up and off the bed and threw the door open, running out into the hallway.

She landed on her knees with a grunt and cussed under her breath, blowing stray hair out of her face.

He wasn't exactly sure where he was going, but anything was better than being with "Miss-let's drug the Boy Wonder 24/7" right?

Wrong.

He slammed into something hard. Not like material hard. No, more like another human being hard, well if you actually considered him one.

Ra Al Ghul.

Awesome.

The older man grabbed the small boy by the shoulders and smiled.

"Well my boy, I can see you're eager to start training."

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><p>The Bio Ship landed gracefully on an abandoned building's rooftop. Miss Martian turned it invisible before the team stepped out.<p>

Kid Flash ran a hand through his hair. "What exactly are we doing in Gotham….this place gives me the creeps…"

Zatanna looked over the edge of the building. "Well, according to what Roy brought the League…we're looking for the Joker."

Artemis nodded. "Apparently he broke out a few days ago, so that's why we're here."

M'gann piped up. "We better start searching!" With that, everyone found themselves levitating to the ground.

"Where are we going to start?" Connor looked up at the team with an annoyed expression.

Zatanna twirled her hair. "Well..we could probably…" She looked to her side suddenly and saw a man leaned up against the wall in the alley, stuffing a clown mask into a duffel bag. "I bet he knows something!"

The team all sprinted swiftly across the street with Kid Flash leading the way, who took the opportunity to slam the surprised man into the wall.

The man smirked. "Hey, hey! What's Flash-Boy doing here in good 'ol Gotham? Big bad Batman replace his little sidekick already?"

Kid Flash scowled but kept the man held firmly against the wall. By this time the rest of the team had arrived on the scene.

"Where's Joker?"

The man smirked again. "Never heard of him."

Kid Flash narrowed his eyes. "Don't give us that crap, you're definitely one of his goons, your bag is full of "lovely" stuff."

He nodded his head in the direction of the discarded duffle bag where Miss Martian was removing items from with her telekinesis. There was the mask, laughing gas, punching glove, and mallet, there was no doubt, this guy was with the Joker.

"So what if I work for the clown? I ain't gonna tell you nothing."

Kid Flash's expression turned to a small grin. "Oh really?"

"You don't scare me, Flash Boy."

KF shifted slightly. "I kind of figured that, but how 'bout her?" He moved off to the side to reveal Artemis standing a few inches away cleaning an arrow head meticoulsly.

She walked forward and replaced Wally's hand on the man's shoulders with her own.

She also took the opportunity to shove her knee right between the man's leg, for extra measure of course.

"Listen." She paused. "Bernie….can I call you Bernie? You look like a Bernie."

"Actually my name's Ma-"

"Ok, Bernie, now I'm going to ask you really nicely where the Joker is."

"But I-"

She pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh shh shush, Bernie, let me finish. It's real important we find the Joker, and find him soon. You see, Robin, he was like a little brother to me, it would mean a lot if you could tell me where his potential killer could be."

"I can-"

"There you go with speaking again! I'm not finished 're running loose now, Bernie. Young Justice, we're unsupervised here, no League around. Which means that there's tons of possibilites that _accidents _could happen. Wouldn' t that be shame?"

He gulped but made no move to speak.

"You want to have children, Bernie?"

He stuttered. "E-eventually."

She rubbed her chin absentmindly before taking her hand and poking the tip of the arrowhead.

"You see, that would be a darn shame if you were suddenly unable to have children, wouldn't it?"

"What do you mea-"

He was cut off abruptly as she slammed the arrowhead into his loose pant leg, mere inches away from his "private area."

His eyes widened and he let out a breath he didn't even realize he was happening.

Artemis lifted his chin up angrily.

"Next one Bernie, is going to be coming from my bow, and it WILL hit the target."

He gulped even harder before sweat started beading down his face. Artemis carelessly took another arrow from her arrow and began to attach it to her bow.

The man frantically looked to her team mates who seemed oblivious to her actions.

Finally the arrow was on her bow and she took aim. "Wait, wait! I'll talk, I'll talk!"

Artemis smiled evily. "Let's hear it Bernie."

"The Joker, Harley Quinn, and some of the other Arkham inmates are meeting at the Iceberg Lounge in 20 minutes. You can find him there. Please don't shoot my nuts. The man cringed and closed his eyes tightly.

"Good boy, Bernie! Now was that so hard?" She patted his head while his eyes remained tightly shut, still anticipating an arrow through his you-know-what.

After a few minutes of of silence he opened his eyes and realized that he was alone in the alley way. The team had vanished.

Up on the rooftop the team spoke in whispers.

Superboy looked to the Atlantean. "What's our plan of action, Aqualad?"

"I do believe an undercover mission is in order."

Kid Flash frowned. "That's all fine and dandy, but we can't exactly go waltzing in with our costumes on, and it's not like we cant head back to Mount Justice to change…"

Zatanna stepped forward and smiled. "Leave that to me. Tel su tif ni!"

The whole team was bathed in green smoke that vanished in seconds.

They had all undergone a complete wardrobe change.

Kaldur was dressed in a dark red tuxedo. Connor's had the same, only his was black. Miss Martian's dress was the same shade of black with a faux fur boa around her neck and black heels.

Kid Flash had a yellow tux and dress pants with red stripes and red sunglasses complete with a matching fedora.

Zatanna wore something similar to her magician costume only with fishnet stocking and a striking red beret.

Kid Flash couldn't keep his eyes off of Artemis who had a hunter green sparkling dress that reached just above her knees with matching shoes. Her hair was down resting gently over her left shoulder.

Artemis blushed when she noticed Wally was staring at her intently. "You can put your eyes back in your head Baywatch, this is on night only I'm wearing this. Got it?"

He rubbed his neck sheepishly.

Zatanna faced the team. "These outfits alright with everyone?"

The whole team nodded their approval, even Superboy who usually stuck to his limited wardrobe.

Zatanna smiled and looked over the horizon.

"Good. Now let's go clubbing!"'

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><p><strong>Woo! Yeah sorry about that being a short chapter, but I figured that was better than no chapter, right?<strong>

**And yeah a couple of underage kids are going to an adult's club, what could go wrong, right? *laughs uneasily***

**And don't worry my fellow fangirls, there will be more Robin to be had in later chapters, I'm just working on team-centric stuff right now, after all they care a lot about him, so stay tuned!**

**And now I'm going to go sleep since it is now the wee hours of the morning I stayed up writing this. This just shows how much I love you all. G'night! :D  
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**Don't forget to press that beautiful little review button! It's just begging to be pressed! :D**


	8. We Need Answers Part 1

**Everyone please hold your bataraangs, hammers, lasers, bows and arrows, super strength, and over active speedsters. I have FINALLY. updated. Yeah I know, you probably thought I was abducted or something. But worry not, I have not abandoned you all! We have a Robin chapter! In order to kind of split up action, this is going to be a two part chapter, so this is 8a, and the next one will feature the team. But this one, all you Robin lovers, is for you :D**

**I will get 8B up as soon as I can, but I really wanted to give you this to gnaw on. XD  
><strong>

**On to the story!**

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><p>The small brown table fell on to its side, becoming the only barrier between the boy's small frame and the merciless lasers.<p>

Robin panted slightly peering to his side, hearing the circuits of the three robotic droids coming towards him. Not a second later, a large smoking hole appeared in the mahogany table , mere inches away from his head, singeing a small lock of his raven hair in the process.

Gripping the glistening green sword tighter he kicked the table away, and charged at the first droid that was turned away from him.

Using a piece of building debris outstretched before him as leverage he took a flawless takeoff and plunged the head of the sword directly into the chest cavity of the android.

Withdrawing the instrument quickly he turned to the other two remaining androids after hearing the satisfying sound of sparks and metal crunch. He paid no notice to the machine as it doubled over into a crumpled heap; he had the other two to worry about.

He fluidly executed a proper back-flip, nearly missing two simultaneous lasers coming from both droids.

_Kill Robin. Kill Robin._

Robin was growing tired of the droids chanting that over and over. It was becoming ridiculous.

Spinning on his heel he dove for the ground as one of the robotic arms came down in an effort to squish him.

Jumping up quickly he rushed forward pushing himself forward leaping over the shoulders of the two robots. Turning towards each other they slammed into each other. Robin took the opportunity to take a firm grip on the sword and successfully slammed the blade into the heads of both droids.

They both fell to the ground, circuits sparking .

Robin hunched over slightly dropping the sword. Taking out 30 of those could really take a lot out of you.

Suddenly the titanium siding of the room receded back into the ceiling, changing the environment back to a normal room, complete with the black of the night sky and the moon shining in, casting an eerie glow over the boy wonder.

Robin's head snapped up when he heard the familiar voice of Ra over the intercom.

"Well done, Robin. That didn't take as long as expected. I'm assuming you're feeling better? Although, I would have preferred you would have used the gun instead of the sword. Your practice with that would most likely be more valuable than with the sword."

Robin's eyes shifted over to the abandoned weapon scattered all the way across the room.

He shook his head slightly. He would not use that. He hated guns. Hell, he didn't even want to use the sword, but with no utility belt, he didn't really have a choice.

He walked steadily towards the open door, fingertips touching it just as the voice came over the intercom again.

"I forgot to mention, showers are on the left of the hall. You'll find a change of clothes in there as well, I assume you do not smell quite lovely at this point."

The message cut off.

Robin secretly sniffed the side of his arm, taking careful note of the sweat dripping down his forehead.

Yep. Shower would be good.

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><p>The hot water ran down his shoulders and he sighed in relief on how it soothed his aching muscles.<p>

He cleaned thoroughly running the soap from his hair numerous times, it seemed to be the dirtiest since it was covered in soot.

He stepped out and quickly covered himself in a towel, mad at himself for not checking for security cameras. He was used to Bruce having cameras everywhere, but he at least knew where to draw the line. Ra, well, Robin wasn't too sure.

He took inventory of the clothes laid out for him. Same robe, this time it was a dark red, almost identical in color to his tunic.

He simply shrugged his shoulders and put it on anyway.

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><p>Walking out through the hallway he was passed by what he assumed to be other assassins that worked for Ra. He could recognize no one however, as none seemed to be from the League of Shadows.<p>

Although he couldn't help but notice the looks he was getting. Disgust? Anger? Maybe even, envy?

After all, he couldn't shake the fact he was getting "special treatment."

He was finally stopped by Talia who presented her self with the usual stoic expression.

"Father wishes to see you in the dining hall, a meal has been prepared for you both. Come with me."

With no other choice he followed behind her quietly.

He came upon a great room with a long table; similar to the one him and Bruce had eaten at on occasion (when they didn't have a city to protect, so not very often).

It was decorated with gold embellishments and he quickly took notice of the servants frantically going back and forth from the table to what he assumed was the kitchen.

Smells came wafting over to him and he couldn't help the fact that most of it smelled really good. Some things on the other hand, he wasn't even quite sure what it was.

Talia ushered him to a chair and told him to sit. She stood directly beside him. Eyes fixated ahead. He looked and noticed Ra sitting directly across from him. Smiling and holding a book he couldn't recognize.

Ra clapped his hands and two servants came running over. He whispered something inaudible to them and they scurried off to the kitchen a few moments later.

Ra folded his hands and returned his attention to the Boy Wonder.

"I'm not known for giving compliments but I must say, Richard, you certainly were making good use of your acrobatic skills today in your training session."

Robin eyes widened. "My name's Robin."

Ra shook his head sarcastically. "Ah, yes, silly me, slip of the tongue. Just as I shouldn't refer to the Detective as Bruce Wayne. I see. That's perfectly understandable. _Robin." _

The tone of his voice when he said Robin sent a chill running through his spine, not that he'd let the criminal see it.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Of course you don't Robin. But please do not worry yourself. Names are mere names to me. I have no interest in what do you call it? Exposing your identity? I have other methods of making sure we have a successful partnership."

Robin simply stared at him. _What was he getting at?_

Ra's eyes shifted away from the boy's to the two servants he had spoken to previously, they were standing a few feet away, holding a tray with nervous expressions.

He clapped his hands together and they jumped before running over to Robin.

They gently laid the plate with a cover down in front of the boy wonder. One servant ran back to the kitchen while the one remained, hand resting on the lid, awaiting instruction.

Ra looked to Robin again. "I took the liberty of having them prepare something from home for you. I do hope you find it to your satisfaction."

He nodded to the servant who immediately lifted the lid and backed up.

Robin frowned when he saw it. A slice of pizza.

"Do tell me Robin, how fast can your friend run?"

"What?"

"How good are the archers with aim?"

"I don't under-"

"What exactly, are the limitations of the angry boy's super strength?"

Robin tilted his head and Ra smiled evilly. Robin now understood.

Young Justice was in danger, that is, if he didn't cooperate.

Robin nodded solemnly. He would keep his friend safe, he would keep Batman safe. He would become the heir to the Great Ra Al Ghul.

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><p><strong>Ok, yeah I can't write fight scenes if my life depended on it. (No pun intended) XD<br>**

**Don't forget to review friends! :D  
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**As a side note, if I haven't replied to your PM's, reviews, questions, whatever, please re-inbox me, my mind is still out there from school this week, so I'm not ignoring you! I've just honestly lost track of who I was talking with...And yes, I'm that special. :D  
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**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW, PRETTY PLEASE :)  
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	9. We Need Answers Part 2

**Yeah! I finally got over my laziness (temporarily!) and updated! Let me just say I will get to replying to reviews from the last update tomorrow. I wanted to get this up for you guys before I went to bed. (It's EARLY morning right now.) So I will get to that later. Promise 3**

**So this probably isn't the most eventful chapter, but rest assured a whump storm is coming, along with the all powerful force of the DaddyBats. Villains beware, you're in for an asskicking. **

**And as for Young Justice Season 2 premiering today, I'm sad and happy at the same time.**

**I just hope Wally and Artemis and Kaldur are ok, since they didn't appear yet? I'm crossing my fingers they'll come back but yeah, I feel like I missed 4 seasons or something. One minute little Grayson's all kitten cute, and now, now he's just like !**

**Ok, well maybe not that exactly, but you get the picture. AND THEY ADDED TIM DRAKE. I LEGIT DIED. Tim Drake is absolutely my favorite everything. I effing love that kid. He's just….glahh. Let's just say my fangirl senses were tingling like crazy. **

**You know who my OTP is? Tim Drake and I. Yeah, that's right. I ship him with myself. **

**I do it proudly too! /Regret nothing!**

**Alright. I'm shutting up now. Like seriously, somebody's going to cart me off to the looney bin.**

**Just uh…..here's the chapter…:D**

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><p>"What do you mean we can't get in?"<p>

The Iceberg lounge bouncer scowled at Wally before turning to the others.

"Look, you guys are obviously kids, with no I.D. This may be Gotham, but we do have _some _standards around here."

"But I-"

"Can it."

Wally was persistent. He slyly reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a $5.

He scooched up to the man slyly and gingerly passed it over the bouncer's clipboard.

"You see, my good man, that's all the I.D we need, riiiiight?" He winked while the rest of the team stood there in disbelief and embarrassment.

The bouncer simply laughed. "$5 kid? Really? Nice try. Why don't you guys find a Chuck-E-Cheese somewhere and hang out there."

Zatanna fumbled with her red beret before smirking. She had an idea.

She whispered a spell under her breath so no one could here. Wohs em eht doarbpilc!"

Zatanna could immediately see the contents of the man's clipboard without anyone noticing.

A singing group from Jump City was scheduled to be performing in around 20 minutes, and it just so happened to be a group of six.

Zatanna immediately stomped forward, head held high, and made eye contact with the bouncer.

"We're the singing group from Jump, if you'd like to know, but if you don't want us here to sing, well, I suppose we could just find another club."

His eyes widened a moment before he leered at her. "Say you are the group. What's with this ginger trying to sleaze his way in then?"

"He's not all together there mentally, but he's a helluva a singer."

Wally's face reddened. "What?"

Artemis elbowed him quickly and whispered in his ear. "Go with it."

The bouncer sighed. "Alright, whatever. Even if you aren't the singing group, they haven't shown, so we need somebody. Everything you need is back stage."

Zatanna smiled and did a mini curtsey. "Thank You. C'mon everyone, let's get set up."

Once back stage, that's when the panic set in. Kaldur was the first to speak.

"I am not sure we all have the capability to be able to sing at a professional level."

Zatanna patted his shoulder. "Don't' worry, I've got that covered. Everyone stand in a circle and join hands."

Everyone formed a circle while Artemis and Wally reluctantly joined hands.

Zatanna stood in the middle. " eviG su lanoissefforp seciov!"

A puff of purple smoke enveloped the team for a second before briskly leaving as fast as it came.

Zatanna grinned. "Now we'll all be able to sing just as well as some professionals, I knew that spell would come in handy."

Kaldur nodded. "Now all that is left is to figure out what exactly to sing."

M'gann reached into her pocket and pulled out an Iphone.

"I think I can help with that….think we can memorize lyrics in under 20 minutes?"

"_Everyone linked up?" _

"_Present!"_

"_Here!"_

"_Affirmative."_

"_Yep."_

"_All accounted for."_

M'gann turned to Connor who was grumbling as usual.

She turned slightly in her seat and took a look around the club.

Lots of people were all seated in the lounge joking, laughing, drinking, and eating.

That's when her eyes fell on a table with two women. One seemed to be wearing a very revealing Harlequin costume while the other wore a skimpy dress made of vegetation.

Both of their hair was down and they were wearing these large hats that hid most of their face. No doubt they were in some sort of disguise as well. M'gann knew one thing and one thing only.

The Joker couldn't be too far behind.

She immediately returned to her mental conversation when she noticed Artemis nervously peering out from the curtain up on stage.

_Connor and I will be right out here watching. If any one needs help with lyrics of the songs or anything, I can send them directly to you through the mental link. Nothing to worry about. You all look fine. _

Kaldur's voice echoed through the connection._ "Thank you M'gann. _

_Do you have a visual on the Joker?"_

_Not yet. But I do see Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy, if anything out of place happens Connor and I will intercept. _

_You guys better get ready, looks like their ready to start soon. _

Zatanna turned to the team. "Ok, so the boys are supposed to sing a song together, then me and Artemis, a group song, and then we're supposed to do a slow number that….oh no."

They all looked up at her. "What?"

"Well it says here on the pamphlet that two of the members are getting engaged. They're going to be singing a love song. It also appears that it's a red head marrying a blond….heh…"

Wally and Artemis turned to each other. "WHAT?"

Zatanna shook her head. "Sorry guys, but you two are going to have to play the couple getting engaged."

Wally rubbed his face. "This sucks."

"Ya think? But whatever, if it has to be done…..it has to be done."

Wally pointed to the dressing room. "I guess Arty and I will see what song we're gonna sing…"

Zatanna and Kaldur nodded as they watched them walk off.

Kaldur turned to Zatanna and smirked. "How exactly did you know that the couple getting engaged was a red head and a blonde?"

Zatanna grinned devilishly. "I didn't."

A brunette stood on the stage and smiled to the buzzing audience.

"Alright ladies and gentlemen! We've got a special treat for you all tonight! All the way from Jump City we've got the fabulous "Super T's!".

Wally whispered to Kaldur from behind the curtain. "Why don't we just paint we're freaking superheroes on our forehead?"

Kaldur simply shrugged his shoulders as they walked out to the stage.

As they took their positions on stage Kaldur looked to Wally uneasily.

"I'm not sure how I feel about singing this…it is slightly sexual…is it not?"

Wally waved it off. "Pssh, the babes love it. I'll stick to being sexy and you just follow my lead."

He took his position on the stage and winked at a table of older women. They almost fainted when he gave them the sexiest smirk he could muster.

His little victory was short lived however. A man all the way in the back row suddenly jumped from his street and pointed to Wally.

"Wait a minute! That's kid's Flash Boy! He was on the news earlier! I'd recognize the hair anywhere!"

Wally's breath hitched and he directed his eyes nervously to M'gann who stood up and lifted the guy telepathically into the back wall.

All hell broke loose when all the scum of the Earth realized they were in the presence of the good guys.

Amidst the chaos Zatanna ran out to Wally and raised her hands in the air. "tiuS pu!"

The team was all bathed in the familiar green smoke and once it vanished they were all back in their superhero outfits.

As if on cue, around 30 Gotham PD officers burst thorough the doors with weapons, mace, you name it.

Commissioner Gordon led the fleet and held out his badge. "Nobody move! Hands where I can see 'em!"

No one was stupid enough to move so they complied, that is, saving for Ivy and Harley Quinn.

Kid Flash looked to the door and watched as the two women snuck out.

"Supey! With me! They went out the back!" He immediately took off after them, Superboy closely behind.

KF slammed Ivy into a wall while Superboy came up from behind and grabbed a kicking and yelling Harley by her underarms.

"Hold it there Junior, if you wanna cop a feel, you gotta buy me dinner first…HA!"

Superboy rolled his eyes at the crazy woman.

Kid Flash turned his attention back to Ivy. "Where's the clown?" He clenched his teeth.

Ivy smiled. "How should I know? Why don't you just ask his little girlfriend."

Kid Flash turned to Superboy who nodded quickly before slamming Harley into the wall beside Ivy.

Superboy got in her face this time. "Where. Is. He?"

Harley giggled. "You guys are so dumb. Sticking around the lounge thinking my Mista J would show. Just goes to show, he's too darned smart for you. That's why Ivy and I decided to stay here and keep you kids nice and occupied. He's probably halfway to where he's going now! Tee hee."

Superboy growled and pushed her into the wall even farther.

"Where's he going?"

"To go finish what he started with Bird-Boy of course!"

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><p>Robin was glad for the opportunity Ra was giving him. Sleep without it being drug induced. Crawling in his room and on his bed had seemed like a good idea at that time. Fighting those droids had drained him and he needed some shut-eye. And after all, he was the freaking boy wonder, if someone disturbed him, he would surely get up right away…right?<p>

He never heard the creaking of the door or the dark shadowy ominous figure looming over his bed.

He never noticed how the figure admired the boy's surprisingly peaceful face as he slept.

He also paid no mind as the figure fumbled with something in his belt before finally giving up and turning his attention back to the slumbering boy wonder.

Robin, shifting slightly in his sleep, scrunched his shoulders and moved a half an inch under the blanket.

Noticing how the boy seemed to be shivering from cold, the figure delicately moved the covers up to keep the warmth in.

From this action Robin had stopped his moving and settled into a peaceful sleep once again.

The figure stood a moment, studying all the boy's features before lifting his mask off his face.

Standing over the boy he lowered his head and gave the boy a gentle peck on the forehead affectionately.

Perhaps from a fatherly bond? It was unclear.

Sighing, the figure straightened his posture and replaced his mask to his face. Taking once last good look at the boy he exited the room and shut the door quietly.

Ra stood beside the door as the man walked out, arms behind his back. He made a sly smile.

"Well?"

"Well what?"

"Will you be willing to assist me in his training?"

"I think so. He has quite the potential going for him."

"Excellent."

Ra extended his hand. The figure hesitated before also extending his own, before they engaged in a handshake.

"I'm glad you've come to see the light, _Deathstroke."_

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><p><strong>Yes. I totally just added Deathstroke aaand the Joker. I am that evil. :) <strong>

**So that was probably the worst chapter ever. Like really. I hate except that last part, but yeah. You guys totally thought he was gonna get raped, didn't ya? Ok, maybe you didn't but I kept on getting these rape vibes from that section when I proofread it XD**

**Anywho, get your character whump googles on ladies and gentlemen! The character torture is coming! Oh and don't forget the almighty Daddy!Bats as well :D **

**Ok since I've bored you with my rambling enough…Don't forget to review!**


	10. No One's Gonna Save You

**Wow that took longer to write than expected, but it's here, so that's what matters! And yeah I can't write sad scenes for crap, so sorry about that. But worry not folks! The whump storm and Robin centric chapter is coming up next! Special shout out to everyone who has reviewed, alerted, and favorited! We have gotten over 70 alerts and over 100 reviews! THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH! :)**

**I won't babble to much today, so without further adieu, I present to you, chapter 9 :D**

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><p>One empty chair.<p>

Out of all the chairs in that wooded area reserved for the Justice League members, there was one single, unoccupied, chair.

That chair was directly in the front row. Wonderwoman sighed and looked to her right at the empty space. The reservation card was still taped to the back of it. _Batman. _

Superman was to her left and she looked at him expectantly. "Do you hear him coming Kal-EL?"

He shook his head and looked to the ground. "No, and even if I could, he still manages to sneak up on me, somehow."

Wonderwoman nodded and fixated her eyes on the opened casket a few feet ahead. It was padded red on the inside and wide open, but empty, save for a few small items.

A small mahogany picture frame had a newspaper cutout of the of the Boy Wonder grinning ear to ear. It was from the first time he had been in the Gotham paper. The headline wrote "Batman welcomes new partner? Gotham Crime fighting has a new face."

Directly underneath it was a pristinely cleaned black and yellow cape. No doubt one of the spares since Batman was still collecting evidence off the _other _one.

Three roses completed the array of items. One yellow, one red, one black.

A hushed silence enveloped the clearing. All faces turned toward the section of chairs to the left of the JL. Those chairs were unoccupied as well, reserved for Young Justice.

Whispering echoed throughout the crowd. _Where were the kids? They didn't run off again, did they?_

After their little "adventure" in Gotham, they had practically been all placed on lockdown.

Red Tornado abruptly stood up and called the League members to attention.

"I have been told to inform you all that Young Justice was merely getting ready at Mount Justice. They are arriving as we speak."

All heads turned when faint footsteps were heard. The kids were here.

What the League saw surprised them. All five members of Young Justice walked slowly, right behind each other, down the small aisle.

It wasn't the manner that they were walking that surpised them, no it was what they were wearing.

The team strode down the aisle dressed completely in black, with black sunglasses, almost identical to what Robin used to wear.

Wonderwoman immediately took notice that the teammates were also carrying various objects snuggled protectively in their arms.

The League watched in awed silence as they all stood in a row in front of the empty casket. They all stretched their necks out to Kaldur who nodded to each of them and stepped forward to the casket.

"I did sincerely hope, I could pass on the torch of leadership to you one day, Robin."

Nodding to the casket once more he wordlessly stepped back in line.

Artemis was next as she tiptoed over to the box and removed her glasses.

"If you were still here, we totally could have laughed about this." _We'll laugh about this someday! _Artemis remembered that cheeky blue- eyed boy who greeted her the first day of school and almost cried.

She managed a small smile before returning to the line.

Zatanna was next; she was clutching a large book close to her chest.

She closed her eyes and laid the large book into the wooden box. _Webster's Dictionary._

"I'd like to think one day, we could have rewritten this."

Superboy and Miss Martian took their turn before the Wally's time came.

He hung his head low and gripped the side of the box gently. His green eyes sparkled with unshed tears as he took the crumpled photo out of his pocket.

There was the photo of Rob and himself. Wally rubbed his eye as he stared at the photo for a moment.

_Rob and his freaking short pants._

Man, did he make fun of those things for the longest time; until Rob got himself pants to wear. _Thank god._

Wally placed the photo down and without looking back, went back into line.

The team all hung their heads low as Kaldur stepped out of line and headed over to Red Tornado.

"If you excuse us, we will be returning to Mount Justice, I do not believe it healthy for the team,…..to linger here….longer than necessary."

"As you wish." Red Tornado's voice echoed as Kaldur began his walk back to the team.

The JL watched as they all filed soundlessly out from the area and returned to the Bio-Ship.

Wonderwoman looked to Superman who just shook his head. She averted her eyes to the ground and a dark silence fell over the group.

* * *

><p>"AGAIN!" The man's metallic voice yelled to his sparring partner.<p>

Robin immediately jumped up from his position on the floor and flung the shuriken from his pocket, hitting both targets almost perfectly.

They had been training for over 6 hours straight and it was starting to take its toll on the Boy Wonder.

This guy was crazy. Training was way over what Bruce usually had him go through.

Robin immediately brought a hand to his mouth where he wiped off a trickle of blood from his split lip.

His hair was practically plastered to his face from all the sweat. His face and clothes were drenched in it as well.

The metal mask's eye watched the boy teeter-totter for a moment before he spoke.

"You seem tired; why don't you take a little nap.." The man kicked a leg out to the boy wonder, whose immediate instincts to dodge kicked in. He hit the floor and jumped up immediately, as he was clear from being kicked.

He made a well- aimed punch to the man's abdomen, which in turn, caused him to be knocked back a few feet.

"Lucky shot, kid. It only took you …what? 6 hours to actually land a punch on me, huh?"

Robin narrowed his eyes as the man behind the mask eyed him carefully.

"Lots of potential…. provided I can actually get you to use that gun, but it doesn't matter, you'll end up having to use it eventually."

Robin rushed at the man, aiming to get another punch in.

Deathstroke smirked behind his mask and grabbed the boy's wrist in mid-motion.

Robin stood motionless, staring into the cold eye of the mask.

"Oh, and you should probably know it's not a good idea to try to attack while we're in mid- monologue."

He bent Robin's wrist back and threw him onto the ground on his stomach, immediately slamming his boot onto the Boy Wonder's back.

"We really hate that."

Ra stood up from his chair and clapped as he walked over to the two. "Well done. Well done. Very entertaining indeed."

Deathstroke looked to Ra and back to the teen on the floor. He removed his boot and Robin tilted his head to look up at the man.

Surprisingly, he outstretched his hand to the raven-haired boy. Robin looked at him with a confused expression. _Why was he offering to help him up?_

"Oh c'mon. I'll help you up. I'm not a complete ass."

Still hesitant, Robin moved his right hand and faintly grasped the gloved one's of Deathstroke.

"Oh wait, I am."

Without warning, Deathstroke tightened his grip on the boy's hand and slammed him, back-first, on the floor.

"What the he-!"

Ra shook his head. "I swear I'm in the presence of two teenagers."

Robin suppressed a faint smile. Ok..it was…_kind of_ funny.

Robin sat himself up and jumped up off the floor, facing Ra.

Wiping his head off from the huge amounts of sweat dripping from it, he titled his head.

"Any chance I could get some water or something?"

Ra nodded. "But of course."

He looked to Deathstroke. "Why don't you come assist me?"

"What? You need me to hold your hand while you pour some water or something?"

Ra scowled. "No, but if you would cease with speaking for over 5 minutes. Perhaps, you could find out."

"Fine, Fine, but make it quick."

They waved Robin off, letting him know to stay put.

He wasn't one to argue at this point, he was pretty sure he could be on the verge of dehydration, not to mention he was tired.

He simply sat down on one of the mats and tried to meditate like Bruce had showed him once.

He closed his eyes and slowed his breathing.

* * *

><p>He became aware of his surroundings when he heard a small crashing sound from outside the door. He was sprawled out on the mat. Figuring he must have fallen asleep while meditating he jumped up and realized how dry and scratchy his throat was.<p>

He had never gotten his water. How long had he been napping, and more importantly, where the hell did Ra and Deathstroke go?

The loud crashing resounded again. Robin perked his ears up to listen more.

He steadily made his way to the door, his fingers just latched around the handle when-

"Heeellooooooo Boy Blunder!"

The Joker and his goons had slammed the door open. The prince of crime himself marched in as his goons took careful care to close the door behind them.

"Fancy, Fancy place you're livin it up in, Robbie. But I bet you missed your dear Uncle Jay didn't ya?"

Robin glared as he backed up a few feet.

"Quiet today, aren't ya birdie? Dah, that's ok, Uncle Jay here brought you a little housewarming gift."

Robin looked up and watched as the Joker threw a small object at him, it missed by a mile.

"You missed!" Robin smirked triumphantly.

Joker smiled his homicidal grin. "Diiiid I?"

Robin looked down at the object and realized it wasn't supposed to hit him at all. It was a small little blue bird egg, around the size of his fist.

Suddenly a malicious looking yellow gas began to pour from it.

Robin immediately brought his arm to his face in a futile effort to cover his mouth and nose.

_If only he had his utility belt, he had his gas mask in there!_

Robin looked up and noticed that the Joker and his goons were all perfectly safe with their masks.

Still covering his face, Robin sprinted towards the clown and successfully landed a blow to his abdomen.

The Joker doubled over and laughed hysterically behind his mask.

Almost immediately Robin's limbs felt like gelatin and he fell unceremoniously to his knees.

The Joker had quickly recovered and grabbed Robin by the scruff of his neck and held him a few feet off the ground.

Dark spots were beginning to line his vision as the Joker smiled at him, inches away from his face.

"The fun's just beginning Bird-Boy!"

And Robin saw no more.

* * *

><p><strong>Whew! Ok the filler-ish thing is over! On to the Robin centric chapter next! PURE WHUMP LADIES AND GENTLEMAN, IT'S COMING YOUR WAY!<strong>

**And don't worry Deathstroke behavior will be explained in the next chapter as well! Stay tuned!**

**Don't forget to review! **


	11. Welcome to Hell

**Wow. When I say whump, I mean whump. Holy crap, I can't believe I wrote this. It's so…uh…gory? **

**Anyways, what you guys think of Alienated? –Don't read past here if you haven't seen it! Spoilers!-**

* * *

><p><strong>But yeah, so we finally found out what happened to Kaldur. And Tula died? :'( I kinda liked her. <strong>

**Seriously though, if Kaldur doesn't get off his high-horse, evil phase or whatever I swear I am going to find his little Atlantean butt; vacuum pack him into a freaking sardine can, and ship him off to Mount Justice where he can wash the Batmobile and Bio Ship for three months in addition to having to cater to Beast Boy and Captain Marvel.**

**You hear that Kaldur'ahm? I'm freaking coming for you. Get your ass back to the team. NOW.**

**And as usual, Nightwing was smex.**

**Now returning to your regularly scheduled program.**

**WARNINGS FOR: GORE, BLOOD, SWEARING, AND LOBOTOMY? **

**Just to be safe I'm going to rate this high T/ possibly M? for this chapter, not really sure how people would classify it, but you've been warned.**

**Enough babbling! On to the story! :D**

**Read at your own risk. Muahahahahaha.**

* * *

><p>Robin woke up groggily and blinked his eyes slowly. Aside from the dull throbbing in his head he felt pretty ok. That's when realization hit. The Joker had him. He snapped his eyes open and took in the sights around him.<p>

The pasty face clown was mere inches from his face, smirking devilishly.

"Look at that! Bird Boy's up!"

Robin shifted his head away from the clown and tested the binds on his wrist. Leather. It would take awhile, but if he worked at them, he could get loose.

"In just a few months you shot up like a sprout! We've got a lot of catching up to do."

Robin then took notice of how he was almost completely stripped down, save for his underwear.

_At least that was still there. _

"You can't even imagine how heartbroken I was when I heard that you had gotten blown up. I'm the only guy allowed to make you go boom! But then again, here we are!"

Robin let a breath out of his nose as the clown rambled on. Perhaps if he kept talking a little while longer he could break out of these.

"But you seem to have flown the coop away from Batsy, eh? Mr. Laughs-A-Lot get too cold for ya, birdie? That's ok, Uncle Jay's here to make you smile again. And to commemorate this special occasion, I brought lots of new toys, just for you."

"I can't contain my excitement. Really."

_Where the hell are Ra and Deathstroke? Didn't they hear him come in or something? Whatever. I can handle this myself._

Joker walked over to his bags and unzipped a shimmering crowbar.

He walked over to Robin and put it right in front of his face.

He pointed to a small bloodstain on the side of it. "See that, Boy Blunder? That was yours from 3 years ago. When we first met! Although we only got five minutes together before Batsy showed up and ruined the fun, I'll cherish that moment forever."

Robin rolled his eyes as he kept working feverishly on the binds. _That's it ugly; you keep talking. _

"Hey what's your face, throw me that little black bag. Gotta start with that first."

"Oh wait, I almost forgot!" Joker smiled and snapped his fingers as the biggest of his goons came over to stand beside him.

Robin eyed him carefully. In size comparison this guy could have given Bane a run for his money.

Another goon had brought the bag over to him; he reached in and pulled out a red permanent marker.

He crouched down and went to Robin's backside where he ran his hands over the wrist binds that were slowly fraying.

"Tsk Tsk, naughty bird. I didn't want to have to do this but…..oh who am I kidding? Of course I did!"

He took precise action to mark an "X" on each of Robin's wrists. Robin raised an eyebrow behind his mask as the Joker stood up and returned to the goon's side.

"Now, I want you to break it right where the X's are. Got it?"

The man nodded and smiled a toothless grin before he waltzed over to Robin and grabbed his arms; which seemed like noodles compared to the size of this guy's hands.

Robin kicked out and wriggled as best as he could. It was a futile attempt however as he felt the painful burn and two sharp cracks.

Robin cringed when the man finally released his limp and aching hands. The Joker had been brushing up on his knowledge. He had the man break his scaphoid bones, which would make an escape attempt almost useless.

"Great job you big brute! Now for the real fun stuff!"

He reached into his bag again and pulled out a pair of heavy-duty pliers.

The Joker turned to Robin once more and grabbed his leg and snaked his pasty hands downward towards his toes.

Robin shivered at the deranged clown's hand on his leg, frankly it creeped him out.

He eyed him suspiciously as he grabbed hold of his right foot, before looking at his pliers intently.

Once realization hit Robin he tried kicking the man with his free leg, which was soon held down by the other goon.

"Now, Now birdie, save your floundering for the main events!"

He gripped Robin's toe with the pliers as he slammed the pliers down on it, causing another sickening crack to resound through the room.

Robin bit his lip so hard a small amount of blood came from it.

He had to look away as the Joker went down both rows of toes. Each time saying this little Piggy went to market! _Crack! _This little piggy went home!_ Crack! _This little piggy had roast beef! _Crack! _This little piggy had none! _Crack! _And this little piggy went Wee-Wee-Wee, all the way home! _Crack! _

A bead of sweat ran down Robin's forehead. The Joker smiled and reached into his bag again for a jagged Swiss knife.

"Now I've been trying to keep up with the times and what kids say these days, but I think I found a favorite saying. Wanna guess what it is?"

Robin remained silent, staring at the goon beside him, smiling dumbly.

The Joker twisted his smile and backhanded Robin across the face. "Manners, Bird Boy! You're supposed to look at people who talk to you! Hasn't Batsy taught you anything?"

"Anyway, I found out kids nowadays say LOL. Did you know what means laugh out loud?"

Robin sighed and blew some of his bangs out of his face. "Yeah."

"LOL, LOL, LOL, LOL! I just love it!"

He grinned crookedly as he tightened his grip on the knife and twisted Robin's right arm against the binds.

The pale inside of it was facing up as Robin was aiming kicks at the clown's groin, he almost succeeded too, but was restrained by tall and ugly once again.

He plunged the sharp end of the knife into the white insides of his arms and began to carve.

Robin shut his eyes tightly, trying to keep the tears from running down away from his eyes; the unwanted liquid was already blinding his vision.

The horrid burning pain ended in his right arm and he was about to open his eyes, until the same pain began to radiate from his left arm.

The Joker was talking to him, but he couldn't really register what was going on until something cold and metallic collided with his face.

He blinked his eyes open quickly and noticed he was still bound, but on his side.

His arms were drenched in crimson and he could make out the letters carved into both arms as "LOL"

He was starting to look forward when that same metal collided with his abdomen.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven. He lost track of the blows at twenty-two.

By this time his insides were on fire and he was periodically spitting blood out of his mouth by the truckload.

Robin involuntary shivered when he saw the goons were unpacking large amounts of dry ice from a cooler.

He lost control of his body as he began shivering fiercely as it was packed up and laid against his uncovered chest, legs, and neck.

In his peripheral vision he watched as the Joker reached for a small box and waltzed over with a big grin on his face.

His arms were grabbed roughly and the tears ran freely down his face when he realized what the box was.

_Salt._

He wasn't sure how long or how loud he was screaming, but after what he assumed were a few minutes he had to stop since his voice was becoming hoarse.

Not to mention the blood sticking inside his throat was making it hard to swallow and breathe.

That's when the wave of nausea washed over him.

Robin tried, he really did, to not vomit, but it was one of those unavoidable things.

He retched all over the floor in front of him and tried to scoot away from the vile mess.

The Joker smirked and dragged him back up to it before slamming the boy's face headfirst into it.

Robin held his breath as the acidic substance got all over his face while the smell wafted into his nose.

He gagged and shifted his face away from it just as the baseball bat collided with his back.

This time the wood splintered along his back and the blood ran freely down so he could see it as he winced.

Everything hurt.

_Didn't Ra hear him screaming? What about Deathstroke? Didn't…didn't…they care?_

He was shaken from his thoughts when two pairs of hands were sitting his mangled body upright. He got a full view of the Joker digging through his bag.

He produced an ice pick from his pack and had on his most evil smile yet.

In one swift motion Robin's mask was off and he tried to hide his blue orbs behind the safety of his closed eyelids.

The Joker yanked his hair upwards and forced the boy to look at him. He smiled as the blue orbs showed no fear, but there was pain.

"Blue eyes. How sweet and innocent. Surprised Batsy let something so…_adorable and innocent _run around Gotham with him."

Robin glared at the man through the massive pain he was experiencing.

"Anyways, I was doing lots of reading up in Arkham, and I stumbled across this _lovely_ old time medical journal. And you'll never guess what it was on. _Lobotomies. _

Robin gulped.

Joker ran the ice pick through his fingers. "Let's try it, Bird Boy!"

"Now you're just gonna take an eencie weensie little nap, ok?"

Two of his smaller lackies strapped a small device to his head and wound it tightly.

Robin's eyes widened when he saw a small controller in the Joker's hands.

In one motion the dial was turned up and Robin couldn't help convulsing at the voltage.

"Nighty, Night Boy Blunder."

* * *

><p>"I must say, Deathstroke, I'm highly impressed with you so far."<p>

Deathstroke simply nodded, eyeing the man carefully behind his mask.

"Well it was your idea to be the "fatherly" one."

Ra smiled. "Indeed it was, but I never thought you'd play the part so well. It seems you do actually care for the boy, and he seems to be thriving off of that. You may not notice this, but he strives to please you. In a way, I do believe you're on your way to replacing the detective."

Deathstroke was silent a moment. "Whatever floats your boat. I'm just sticking this out till you get your perfect little assassin, and I get paid."

Ra nodded. "Even so, I'm sure you'll have a chance to comfort the boy very soon. He'll practically be running into your arms."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You didn't think I'd hired you alone for assistance, did you?"

Deathstroke tensed. "W-who did you hire?"

"The Joker."

"What?" Slade immediately jumped up from his position on the chair.

"Calm yourself, Deathstroke. I simply hired him to "rough the boy up a bit." Perhaps a few bruises, nothing too notable. Just enough to want you to "save him."

Deathstroke lunged at the man and pinned him by the neck to the wall. "You blubbering fucking idiot! Do you have any idea what you've done? That man is a psycho. He WILL kill him without hesitation, even more so without Batman here. And you, you, just gave him a free ticket to do so!"

"I was unaware of-"

Deathstroke immediately released Ra and reached for his gun holstered on his belt.

"..He?"

"North Side, first room to the left."

Deathstroke wasted no time as he bolted out the door, followed by Ra who had unsheathed his sword.

* * *

><p>Robin had only been conscious for a few moments, but hell was already upon him.<p>

He had black eyes from the lobotomy and was bleeding just about from anywhere it was possible to bleed from.

Still shaking from the ice and salt on him, he glared up at the Joker defiantly.

The binds were off and he could feel the blood pooling underneath and around him.

Putting his arms ahead of him he began to crawl towards the door; which seemed miles away.

He held a breath of relief when he realized the Joker wasn't paying attention.

That is, until he felt metal crack against the back of his knees. There was no muffling it as he cried out as loud as he could; his spasm caused most of the wounds to bleed even more now.

The Joker knelt down beside him and grabbed his chin. "Oh c'mon! You can't be trying to fly away now!"

He removed his hand and moved it to the ebony locks before repeatedly slamming the boy face-first into the hard floor.

Blood was rushing up his mouth and he was almost positive he had broken teeth or something.

He perked up slightly when he heard noises from outside. It sounded like a fight was going on.

Either way, he was still in here, getting the crap beat out of him.

In a burst of noise and light Robin caught a glimpse of two figures bust down the door and burst into the room.

A wave of bullets passed through each of the goons as they fell unceremoniously to the floor.

Robin tilted his head to the side, despite the pounding and witnessed four rounds go through the Clown Prince of Crime's chest.

He collapsed as well, laughing maniacally.

Robin couldn't help but shy away from the shadowed figure coming towards him, while the other figure remained in the doorway.

Suddenly gloved hands were gripping his shoulders gently and bringing him to a sitting position. He couldn't help but gasp as that irritated his many injuries.

"Easy kid, Easy, it's just me."

Recognition flashed across his face when he realized it was Deathstroke.

He motioned to the man in the doorway who came out of the shadows and revealed himself to be Ra.

Ra immediately unhooked his cape from his robe; Deathstroke then snatched it from him and proceeded to wrap it around the shivering and majorly injured teenager.

Robin was trying to grip the sides of the man's armor, but couldn't get a hold since the pain in his wrists came shooting upwards each time.

Deathstroke removed a few locks of hair from his eyes and noticed the black surrounding the blue orbs. He cursed to himself and in one swift motion had the boy bridal style in his arms.

Robin curled himself into the man, thinking for half a second that he was Batman. As soon as he remembered however, he didn't make a motion to shy away from his embrace. Instead he curled himself up even further into his savior's arms.

Deathstroke gave a questioning glance at the boy before resuming walking out of the door.

Ra waved off Deathsroke as he passed through the doorway. Gripping his sword he walked to where the clown was laying.

He was still sputtering and gasping for breath, still managing a smile.

"Our partnership has officially been terminated."

With that, he held his sword over his head and plunged the blade into the clown's neck.

* * *

><p><strong>Woo! That took forever. But yeah, did I just kill the joker? Maybe..maybe not…:D<strong>

**Anyway, I'm expecting Batman to come kill me in my sleep tonight because of this so….not sure when the next update is coming. Haha I'm just kidding, Batman doesn't kill silly! But he DOES put people in body casts…ok yeah no, I'm outta here! I'll go hide out with the Green Lanterns on Oa, he'll never find me there! Oh who am I kidding? He's the Godamn Batman, he'll freaking find me….**

**Anyway…DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! :)**


	12. It Starts With X, Red X

**Yes! Finally an update! **

**This took me forever, and I honestly don't know why. Hope ya'll liked the last chapter, as emotionally scarring as it was….heh….anyway. I wish to sadly inform you this story will be going on a temporary hiatus. This is due to the fact I have final exams coming up this week and I will be handing in my school laptop (I write all my stories on this). Which isn't the end of the world, since I got a nice refurbished laptop! But it's kinda….erm….it doesn't have Firefox, gah… I can't live without my firefox, so I have to get that. And it also doesn't have any Word Processing like Microsoft word..so I'm going to have to go out and get it. Which is like $150…so until I can get that together…..we're going to be going on an eensie weensie..hiatus. **

**But let's not dwell on that! I can't even begin to describe how awesome you all are! 26 reviews for the last chapter? That's a new record for this story! That's awesome you guys! I can't even….I'm gonna go fly out the window now, I'm so happy! The reason I didn't reply individually for them was because I just wanted to make a huge shoutout to everyone here, YOU GUYS FREAKING ROCK. **

**I just want to throw you all a party with comics, cartoons, chocolate, and beppg9yihrtbiguflhefpi. Hehe…yeah..anyway. **

**ON TO THE STORY! :D**

**WARNINGS-some Spitfire uh…."hotstuff?" if you want to call it that…..O.o**

**And swearing….ya know, the usual. And don't forget the Brooding Daddy-Bats!**

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><p>Artemis padded gently into her room as she undid the towel on her newly dried hair.<p>

She slipped into her hunter green pajama pants and top and was about to turn in early when she found a small note taped to her mirror.

_Arty,_

_I have skittles, root beer, mini pretzels, and the Lion King on blu-ray. You can't possibly resist that. And yes, this is me asking you on a date, beautiful._

_-Wallace West (sexiest Ginger on the Eastern Seaboard.) _

She smirked and shook her head at Wally's "humor."

Even so she laid the note on her dresser before walking to the door, turning out the light, and heading down the hallway to his room.

Next thing she knew she was in a tight lip lock with "Kid-Idiot."

She paid no mind as Wally snaked his hand slyly past her thigh almost reaching to her backside-

"_Hey guys?"_

Both teenagers immediately retracted, the force so strong that Artemis ended up on her side on the bed, and Wally spread eagle on the floor.

Artemis immediately rubbed her lips with her fingers and fixed a stray piece of hair before replying.

"_Yes, M'gann?"_

"_Something we can help you with?" _Wally had joined in on the mental-conversation as well.

"_Sorry to bother you, but are you guys fighting over there or something?"_

They both looked at each other.

"_No…"_

"_Alright, it's just that this huge wave of emotion came over here. Something along the lines of you having Wally tied to his bed, and Wally had something along the lines of you on the floor, sucking on-"_

Both turned a dark shade of maroon. _"Thank you M'gann! That's enough now! Goodnight!" _

"_O-ok, um…..Goodnight!" _

Artemis rolled on to her back while Wally made his way back up to the bed and lay beside her.

She covered her eyes with her hand and an awkward silence fell over them before Wally spoke up.

"So…tied to a bed, huh?"

"Wally…."

"Can I wear my costume?"

"What? No Wally, STOP. This conversation is over."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Alright. Alright. Sheesh. We can still watch the movie, though, right?"

Artemis looked at him, eyebrows furrowing when she caught sight of his puppy-dog eyes.

She rolled her eyes and layed beside him, latching herself into the crook of his arm.

"Alright fine."

He smiled as he inched even closer to her side.

The previews began rolling and Artemis smiled.

"Pass the Skittles, Baywatch."

* * *

><p>"Master Bruce, would you please take a break? At least for a few moments?"<p>

The British butler stood behind the Dark Knight. Worry evident on his face.

The Batman sighed annoyingly as he continued to work at the computer. "Not until I find the information I'm looking for, Alfred."

"Master Kent has been calling the manor at least three times a day….to check up on you…"

"I already told you what to stay next time he calls back."

"Of course Master Bruce, but I'm not sure how I feel about telling him that if he continues to call that you have decided to take that chunk of kryptonite and shove it up his….erm….dairy air….."

Batman paid no mind as he looked to the dusty "World's Greatest Dad" mug Dick had bought for him last year for his birthday.

He gingerly gripped the handle and spun the mug so the words were facing away from him.

"_I don't deserve that."_

* * *

><p>Deathstroke's mask was practically glued to the observatory glass. His eyes narrowed behind it as the doctor's continually worked on the downed Boy Wonder. Every so often his eyes would linger over to Talia who was seated in the corner of the room, out of the doctor's way. She would send a "you-need-to-die" glare his way and then he's immediately avert his attention back to the boy.<p>

He noticed how the boy's bloody hand would twitch ever so slightly when he was prodded and for some reason, Deathstroke felt compelled to look away.

"How is the boy faring?"

Deathstroke turned to see Ra gliding down the hall before finally stopping and turning to face the assassin.

"Pretty good considering he just got the snot beat out of him by some lunatic clown, you jackass."

"Now, now Deathstroke. Mind yourself. You are still on my payroll. And I will admit that was the wrong decision to hire him. Let's call it a lapse in judgment?"

Deathstroke growled and grabbed the back of the man's head before successfully half-slamming it into the observatory glass.

Talia looked up from the sudden noise. When she caught sight of Deathstroke with her father's face pressed up against the glass, she hid a smirk before returning her attention to the boy.

"There's your lapse in judgment! He could've been dead, and you call it a freaking lapse in judgment?"

By this point he released Ra's head from the glass and the man was busying himself in straightening his robe while Deathstroke rolled his eyes.

"I never thought I would see the day when the cold-heartless assassin known as Deathstroke finally developed a heart."

He growled in response. "Whatever, I don't care. If he dies, I don't get paid, and you just wasted talent there."

"Oh calm down. The Lazarus can fix just about anything."

"Anything, huh? What about emotional trauma? What if he's out somewhere on a hit-mission and freezes on the spot because he got a glimpse of a clown or something? Ever heard of PTSD, douchebag? Now I'd like to hear how your lazarus is going to fix that."

Deathstroke was fuming and turned to leave before Ra grabbed his shoulder.

"This probably isn't the most opportune time to mention it, but we haven't been able to locate the clown's body."

Deathstroke turned slowly. "You..what?"

"I wouldn't worry about him still being on the premises, however. It seems their…uh…getaway..boat is missing too."

"That bastard's still alive? I emptied my gun into his pasty-faced hide. Don't you tell me he-"

"I'm sorry, but it is true."

Oh, well that's just fucking perfect, now isn't it?"

With that, Deatstroke stomped down the hallway away from the confrontation before he beat the man to a bloody pulp out of anger.

Once Ra was sure he was gone he turned to the glass and watched the doctor's work on the boy.

He smirked evilly. _"It would seem everything is going according to plan."_

* * *

><p>Deathstroke leaned up against the wall in the hallway. He sighed before pulling out a disposable cell phone and dialing a number.<p>

It rang three times before.

"H-ello?" A groggy voice answered.

"It's me."

"God damnit, I thought this was going to be that chick from the strip club last week, and all I get is old and wrinkly. What in the hell do you want? I'm trying to catch up on my beauty sleep here.

It takes work to look this sexy, you know, or wait, maybe not, considering I've yet to see anything remotely sexy come from you…."

"Shut it. This is important."

"Meooowww. Somebody has their tampon wedged too far up their-"

"You're drunk again, aren't you?"

"Wha-no. Of course not. I'm just really hungover, that's all."

"You're not old enough to drink."

"Ooh…big bad Slade gonna call the cops on me?"

Slade put his face in his hand. Working with this kid was more shit than it was worth.

"Thought so. Oh hey, how's the bird watching going, momma Slade? Daddy Ra treating ya good?"

"What? No, I'm not the bitch in this relationship."

"Aha! So there is a relationship! I KNEW IT."

"Slade growled. Remind me when I see you next, to snap your neck, ok?"

"Aww, love you too!"

"Well, if you're finally done, I need your help."

"Ooh, I knew there was a catch! You never call to ask how's the weather, how I'm doing, how my dog's doing…or anything!"

"You don't have a dog…"

"I know that, but maybe since the last time we worked together or talked, you know, I might have gotten one!"

"Alright, listen."

"Yeah?"

"I need your help, I'm busting Robin out of here."

"Whoa, wait, what?"

"You heard me. We're getting him out of here."

"For some reason I feel you didn't discuss this with Ra first?"

"No. But it won't do the kid any good to stay here."

"Oh I get it! It's one of those surprise adoption things! Sweet! We're getting a pigeon!"

"It's Robin…."

"Right right, bird family, got it."

"So you'll help then?"

"Hell yeah! Can I bring the big guns?"

"Yes, you can bring the big guns."

"Sweet! This means I get to fly the jet too!"

"Yes, unfortunately you can fly the jet too."

"Oh yeah this is gonna be sick!"

"I need to go, I'll send you the coordinates."

"Ok."

"Bye."

"Alright. Red X out."

_Click. _

* * *

><p><strong>Oh god! What have I done? So yeah let's just say this story is completely running wild now, but I kinda like it…hehe. So yeah….I'll be seeing you all in a few weeks!...I hope…<strong>

**Anyway, for every review, Ra gets his face slammed into the glass by Slade, so don't forget to review! **

**Bye for now! **

**-RobinXZatanna**


	13. Maybe Just Maybe, We'll Find Our Boy

***crawls out from under imaginary rock and prepares to be pelted with weapons* H-hey guys...:)**

**Alright so after many many years (a couple of weeks) We have an update! :P I'm really sorry this took forever, I just lost my mojo there for awhile...I'm still not completely sure where this story is headed,..but when we get there...I'll let you know!  
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**~Enjoy~**

* * *

><p>Slade's mask was mere centimeters away from the observatory glass. It was aninteresting sight to see honestly. A few days back the Boy Wonder had woken up. Much to Slade's surprise, the lazarus had fixed most of the problems. Key word, most. Physical scars were relatively gone, mental ones, well, that was something different. He and Ra had learned the hard-way when they had gone in to visit. Ra got a stiff kick in his family jewels for his troubles and Slade got a punch in the throat for his. Recovering or not, the Boy Wonder was not a force to be reckoned with, at any time.<p>

If he didn't have a stone cold heart, he might have smiled at the sight unfolding before him.

There was Red X, expert assassin, with less than sub-par people skills having a conversation with Robin.

The Boy Wonder was laying on his back on his bed, covered by a thin sheet and his little assassin protege was sitting beside him on a chair making hand motions and occasionally tapping his mask.

Talia was in the corner of the room, working diligently on her nails with a file,smiling occasionally at the two boys interactions.

On occasion a ghost of a smile would appear on the recovering boy's lips, and for some reason he had this feeling of pride, something that had never happened before.

His eye on his mask widened when he saw his little apprentice, Red X, pull out a cigarette lighter and wave it around before his black and red cape indefinitely caught fire. Slade's hand was on the doorknob before he could blink before he saw Talia tackle the teenager to the floor and roll him there until the flames on his cape dissipated.

Robin stared wide-eyed at the sight before he covered his face with his hands and actually started to laugh and smile, wincing slightly at his stitches as he did so.

Slade shook his head, smirking behind his mask, not that anyone could see the assassin anyway.

As if on cue, Ra appeared from the shadows, arms folded behind him before standing next to the other man, taking in the sight as well.

He turned to face Slade, who up until now, was ignoring him at all costs. Slamming someone's face into a glass window could really put a damper on partnerships.

"Deathstroke, a moment of your time...in private please."

Slade glared at him before begrudgingly following him into the darkened hallway.

"What?"

Ra rubbed his chin a moment. "It would seem we've run into a small problem, yet again."

Slade's eyes narrowed behind his mask. "And that would be what?"

Ra had a smug expression on his face. "I am fully aware of your little "liberation" of the boy. Your plan of bringing in Red X and taking the boy away from here. I am fully aware of this, as is my daughter."

Slade backed up slightly before reaching for his holster. "You can't prove any of that..."

Ra raised his hands in a surrendering motion. "No Deathstroke, you see, I want you to take the boy."

Slade tilted his head. "You want me to..what?"

Ra looked to the side as if he was pondering something for a moment. "It seems I underestimated our dear Detective once again. As you would say, he's "onto us". He will be here soon, no doubt, with many reinforcements to recollect his sidekick."

He gripped the other man's shoulder. "It's imperative you take him to Jump City with you, Red X...and...my daughter."

* * *

><p>Recognized Batman B-02<p>

All the heads of Young Justice snapped up to attention at the arrival alert. Everyone was genuinely surprised. No one had heard or seen Batman for...wait, how long was it?

Everyone immediately left their cereal bowls on the kitchen counter as they scurried out to the Dark Knight and stood at attention. His expression was stoic as usual. He ignored the looks from the other teenagers and turned his attention to Wally.

He lifted his arm from his cape and pointed to him. "Kid Flash, with me."

With that, he turned and headed for the zeta beam again.

Wally's eyes widened before he pulled his cowl over his head. "M-me?"

The Dark Knight simply nodded as he kept walking, not even giving the teen a second glance.

The rest of Young Justice simply stared but urged him forward as he followed after the Batman.

As the zeta beam began to twinkle Artemis shot him a worried look. He simply shrugged and smiled at her sheepishly.

Batman stepped out of the phone booth first and when Kid Flash finally did, he realized they were smack-dab in the middle of Gotham City. And right in front of the booth was the iconic Batmobile.

The Dark Knight pressed a button on his gauntlet and the doors to the vehicle slid open.

He walked over to it and Kid Flash followed, making sure there was at least a few foot distance.

He glided into the drive side and buckled his seat belt and closed the door with one swift motion.

Kid Flash stood a few paces away. This was the goddamn Batmobile. A fanboy's dream and he was so close to it-

"Do you plan on standing there all day or are you coming with me?"

The Dark Knight's gruff voice cut him from his thoughts and he nodded. "Y-yes sir."

He sped forward, sat in it and closed the door. After tangling himself in the seat belt and righting himself again, they were speeding down the Gotham City streets.

Kid Flash chose to look out the window, Batman wasn't exactly the most conversational person ever. He smiled at what he thought Robin's reaction to him- He shook his head.

_Idiot. He's gone now. It's been over a month._

* * *

><p>He looked up and saw a cave wall rise as they drove through the hole it had created. In a few moments the car was stopped and they had ended up in the Batcave. Kid Flash got out cautiously, keeping his hands behind his back, afraid to touch anything or even look at it the wrong way.<p>

The elderly englishman Wally had grown fond of appeared and smiled. "Master Wallace, would you like something to drink?"

Wally held his hands up. "No thank you."

Alfred simply nodded and vanished as quickly as he appeared.

Batman motioned for him to come over to the computer. Kid Flash complied and saw pictures from the "crime scene" from over a month ago. There it was, the blood, cape, etc, etc. He grimaced. He really didn't need to see it again.

Suddenly Batman held up a vial with what Wally could only assume was blood.

He typed away on his computer. "I was doing some more in depth scans of the blood samples I had collected."

Wally nodded.

"After some in depth analysis on the DNA, I discovered something "off" about it."

Wally tilted his head. "What?"

"Not only did it not match Richard's DNA...it's not human..."

"Animal?"

Batman shook his head before typing at his computer again. Various images of genes and structures appeared.

"Whatever "blood" this is..isn't biological. It's synthetic. Man-made."

Wally smiled slightly. "So this "blood" it doesn't belong to anyone..since this "anyone" doesn't actually exist?"

He nodded. "Exactly. All the evidence was faked. None of the bodily fluids belong to human or animal. His death was faked."

Wally couldn't prevent the huge grin spreading across his face. "So he's still alive!"

A ghost of a smile appeared on the Dark Knight's face. He turned the vial over in his hands.

"Now we need to find who had this type of technology at their disposal to be able to create a fake like this."

Wally tugged on his gloves and adjusted his goggles. "And when we find that out. We find Robin."

* * *

><p><strong>DUN DUN DUN! Yeah, Ra better get his butt in gear. The Bat-sense is tingling and he's gonna wack a 600-year old wizard guy if he doesn't act soon. :P<strong>

**Anyway I'm loving the over 100 alerts! Keep 'em coming guys! You all freaking rock! :D  
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**~And as always...don't forget to review! :D ~  
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	14. If You Love Something, Let it Go

**...Don't ask me why...but for some reason..I'm kinda proud of this chapter...I'd like ti think my writing improved from the first couple chapters...kinda hope it did...but either way...hope you guys enjoy it! :D This puppy took me three days xD**

**Anywho...Enjoy! :)  
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* * *

><p>The Batman was standing in his room! The freaking Batman was like his friend...acquaintance...bnwhatever..he was still here!<p>

Wally continued to root through his drawers, attempting to find the photo album, the last thing Robin had left them before his "demise".

Batman wanted to analyze whatever had been left by him to see if they could find any clues.

After bumping his head on the side of the bed, he jumped back up and handed the book to the Dark Knight.

Batman nodded his thanks before gliding out of the room without another word., not that Kid Flash was expecting anything.

Either way, he still had a job to do so he bent down again and bumped his head before noticing a small bright canary yellow piece of paper sticking out from underneath his bed.

Puzzled, he tugged a finger on it until it grazed the floor as he brought the mass of it away from its hiding spot.

He ran a thumb over it as he took note of the yellow and red. A lightbulb went off in his head when he remembered this was the wrapping paper that Robin had wrapping his supposed last gift in.

For some reason Wally felt the need to turn the paper over in his hands, and thats when he spotted it. The black ink caligrophy written on it, and unnoticeable from the outside.

Puzzled, Wally held it up to the light to get a better view.

_The Demon's Head_

There it was, plain as day, but in all actuality Wally had no idea what it meant. He bit his lip before another light bulb went off.

Batman would know!

He wasted no time as he raced out of the door.

The Dark Knight was just heading to the zeta beam when he felt someone grab his shoulder.

He turned to see Wally holding a piece of paper up to his face. One look and he knew.

His gaze turned icy and he narrowed his eyes. _Ra's Al Ghul_.

* * *

><p>Within minutes the two were heading out from the phone booth zeta beam. Wally stopped dead when he saw who was standing in front of the Bat-mobile.<p>

Young Justice.

He eyed them nervously. Their expressions were stoic and unwavering as most of their attention was directed to the Dark Knight.

Aqualad turned to his team a moment before stepping up to the Dark Knight.

"We mean no disrespect, Batman, but as a team, we've decided we will be accompanying you on this rescue mission regardless of what you have to say."

He turned back to the rest of the team and smiled. "He means a lot to us too."

Kid Flash looked around the alleyway uneasily and uncurled his fingers, expecting the worst.

Miss Martian stepped forward next to Aqualad. She waved her hand in the air, and the Bio-Ship came into view, hovering above a decimated building.

Batman ground his teeth together. "Fine."

The team raised their arms triumphantly. Wally pounded a fist into the palm of his hand.

"What are we waiting for? Let's go get our little brother!"

* * *

><p>The team exited soundlessly from the Bio-Ship and stalked up towards the sunroof on top of the castle, per Batman's instructions. The halls seemed to be bare as the team trudged through. Batman refused to have them go by themselves.<p>

They came upon a room with an observatory glass window. Wordlessly, the Batman directed them inside for clues.

There was a stark white hospital bed with medical tools on a small table beside it. There was a large cupboard too, no doubt filled with more tools for medicine. Two chairs were strewn across the room.

Kid Flash looked around the room and sniffed. "Bleach."

Aqualad nodded. "It was cleaned recently."

Artemis was looking in the cupboards hesitantly, finding unused syringes, scalpels, masks, etc. Her eyes came upon a medical waste trashcan. She walked to it cautiously and used the edge of her bow to tip the lid open.

She swallowed.

"Uh...guys."

The rest of the team and Batman glanced over and looked. In the trashcan was a bunch of grotesquely bloodied sheets.

Kid Flash winced. "They were definitely cleaning up after something..."

Miss Martian walked along the walls, letting her hands run along it, hoping to find something, anything. She stopped when her fingers ran along a rigid edge on the wall.

Curiously, she ran her hands up and down it, it formed a slightly lopsided rectangle shape.

"Batman!"

Batman stalked over and the rest of the team followed. She pointed to the "wall" and smiled. That part of the wall wasn't actually a wall, it was a door that had been sealed shut and hastily painted over.

Batman nodded and reached into his belt, pulling out a small canister. He aimed it at the wall and sprayed along the ridges, forming a doorway shape with the spray. It stuck to the wall and began to corrode the poor sealing job almost instantaneously. The team watched in awe as the seal completely broke and the door began a fast fall towards the ground. Miss Martian caught it quickly with her telekinesis before it hit the ground, easing it there lightly and soundlessly.

They didn't want to make their presence known by anyone in the castle yet. The Dark Knight stepped through first and motioned for the others. They all found themselves in another blandly colored, deserted hallway; that is, until they took a good look at the one side of the wall. Leading from the newly demolished door was a trail of body hand prints along the wall. The team backed up slightly as the Batman stepped up to it to get a closer look. The handprints were completely coated in somewhat fresh crimson, smears were evident since the patterns of the hands and fingers in some cases appeared to blur together. He leaned in closer and noticed the small indentations along the wall, nail marks. Someone had been dragged along and were desperately trying to cling to the wall to avoid.._something_. Batman frowned and scrunched his face together as he ran a finger over one of the almost perfect handprints.

"It's child sized...they must have drug an injured child through here."

No one needed to say a word, it was all in their minds at this point, that injured child was most likely Robin.

Batman removed himself from the scene and the group kept walking briskly forward.

They made it pretty far until Artemis lifted her leg up in a grossed out manner before she exclaimed. "What the hell!"

They all turned to look at her. Aqualad used his water bearers to better illuminate the hallway and shined it below their feet. Artemis's boot along with everyone else's had become caked in mud...and...blood.

Batman bent down and narrowed his eyes. Bloody footprints. That's when he caught sight of the slight illumination behind an old style door ahead of them by a few feet. He motioned to the rest of the team and they crept up to it. Voices could be heard from the other side.

Without hesitation Batman backed up a few feet and slammed a booted foot into the door's weak point, causing it to collapse on the other side in a dusty heap.

The team and the Dark Knight were met with 10 armed guards who did not look to be in the best of moods. They all narrowed there eyes before Superboy spoke up.

"So this is what's standing between us and getting Robin back?" He cracked his knuckles and his gaze turned dark. "I'd hate to be them right now."

With that, he lunged. Needing no further instruction, everyone sprang into action. Kid Flash singled out two guards standing next to each other, save for a few feet. Guns were raining down on him as he ran at incredible speeds towards them. At the last possible moment he stretched both his arms out, hitting them forcefully in the gut and successfully knocking them on their asses before they continued their tumble downward and flopped over unconscious.

Miss Martian used her telekinesis to remove the guns from another two guards while Superboy rushed in and slammed their heads together before they crumpled to the floor incapacitated.

Zatanna raised her arms in the air as a frighteningly buff guard made his way towards her with a swiss army knife. "Efink ot sepor!"

The knife suddenly loosened itself from his hand and twisted around him incredibly tight, taking the shape of a slithering snake around his body before clasping shut around him and sending him to the ground.

Aqualad dodged an attempted stabbing by one guard as he ducked to avoid a kick by the second. He reached back for his water bearers and leapt over them both, sending a shock to both of them with the equivalent voltage of a taser, successfully taking them from the fight.

Two guards surrounded Batman. He gave them the most nasty Bat-glare he could muster, just that made them back off a couple of steps. All of a sudden both of them came at him at once. The larger of the two aimed a kick at him, Batman grabbed his leg with ease and swung him into his unsuspecting crony. The flew into the wall with a groan and made no move to get up.

The Dark Knight was about to turn around when he heard a click from behind him.

Guard number 10 was pointing a gun at him.

Without a chance to even react, a blunt edged arrow head was sent into the side of the man's head, successfully making him drop the gun and meet the floor face first, unconscious.

Artemis smirked at her work and Batman gave her a nod of thanks before turning to the rest of the team who had just finished up with their own guards.

Suddenly a light slow clap was heard.

They all turned and looked and saw Ra sitting on his throne clapping at them and smirking devilishly.

"Well done, Well Done."

They all took a fighting stance as he came to a standing position from his throne, letting his robes drag sluggishly along the floor as he descended down the stairs. He barely made it to the third stair before he found himself pinned to the wall by none other than the Batman.

Young Justice was right behind him, glaring daggers at the wizard. Batman ground his teeth together and hissed. "WHERE IS HE?"

Ra put a finger to his chin mockingly. "Where is whom? You'll have to be more specific, Detective."

Batman wrapped a gloved hand around his neck. "You know damn well who I'm talking about, we saw the blood in the hallway, now where in the hell is Robin?"

"Oh, yes, the young lad. Tis a pity, I heard about that explosion incident...tsk..tsk Detective..blaming your foes for the death of your little sidekick...very unprofessional if I do say so myself."

Batman curled his fingers on his free hand into a fist. "I know he's not dead."

Ra smiled. "Oh, but he is. After all, he did sacrifice himself for your sake...does a poisoning ring any bells to you?"

Batman released his grip slightly. "What are you getting at?"

Ra shook his head with disappointment. "Detective, Detective. I figured you'd be smart enough to figure this out. He brought you to me so you wouldn't die. He traded his life for yours. Although I can't see why. Are you really that naive that you can't figure out your own little protege let himself be killed for your sake?" He grinned.

Batman growled and brought his fist back. "Why You-!"

Ra raised a finger. "I do suppose it's time I go now..." He nodded to the team. "Children...Detective." An inferno appeared where his body had been and it forced Batman back. The inferno vanished almost instantly and so did Ra.

Batman curled his fingers into the palms of his hands and growled. The team stood there in disbelief.

Kid Flash took a deep breath and ran a hand through his hair. "W-what...what do we do now?"

Batman looked up and narrowed his eyes. "We keep looking. He's out there..._somewhere_."

* * *

><p>Slade looked at the sleeping children in his care. One was bandaged up around his head and abdomen, sleeping due to the force of sedatives, while the other was drooling over a table that he had crashed on...most likely do to a hangover.<p>

Talia was in a private room, reading a book..not having spoken to Slade since the helicopter had taken him to his hideout.

He stared at Robin's sleeping form for a moment and cringed at the vivid memory.

_The kid had been drug from the rest he desperately needed by a group of very unfriendly guards. He had fought like hell, ripping open all of his stitches, covering his hands with blood and getting it on the floors where the guards had stepped in it and spread it around. It was all over the walls and he remembered how the kid has tried to cling to the walls to get away from the bastards. _

_They had finally ended up dragging him to a overly clean doctor's room before they put a number of sedatives in his system. Slade was honestly suprized that the dosage hadn't killed him. He looked onward and hid a blanch as they cut open his head and started playing around with his brain._

_ Ra stepped next to him. "Marvelous. Isn't it?" Slade shook his head. "Sure, if you like playing Operation with children, then by all means." Ra scoffed. "We're just making sure everything is all fixed up from that clown's "playdate". And, we're making a few minor adjustments to some little details on how he views things...that's all." Slade raised an eyebrow. "What kind of "little details" are we talking?" Ra smiled. "Oh, you'll see...when he wakes up...soon enough."_

Slade grimaced. He wasn't really sure what to expect when this kid finally woke up.

* * *

><p><span>4 WEEKS LATER...<span>

* * *

><p>Bruce Wayne blew some air out of his nose annoyingly. Another big fancy dinner that he HAD to attend, yet again. This was a waste of time, Batman should be out chasing down leads on where his son was.<p>

Unfortunately, Bruce Wayne had been out of it for such a long time, people started asking questions, so needless to say, he was to go to the dinner or face the wrath of the paparazzi.

Finally the desert was served, he chatted and flirted with the women like a normal playboy and headed outside with the crowd to collect their vehicles that were probably worth more than half the city.

He briskly made his way over to the Mercedes Benz. He was certainly not expecting to see a pair of blue eyes looking up at when he appeared at the driver side door.

The small boy that the eyes belonged to dropped the tire jack immediately and backed away with a terrified expression. Some of the security at the banquet had noticed and came jogging over. They immediately grabbed the boy by the underarms and held him tight as he lowered his head slightly, his red haired bangs hiding the baby blues.

The guard looked to Bruce. "Are you alright, Mr. Wayne? This hooligan didn't hurt you, did he?" Bruce shook his head with disgust. Treating a scared kid like a criminal. Bruce took notice of the dirty grey shirt and ripped up jeans. Yep, this kid was definitely homeless.

The other guard spoke up. "Would you like to press charges Mr. Wayne? We can have him carted off-" Bruce heard enough and immediately cut him off. He bent down on one knee and looked at the boy.

"What's your name, son?" He looked up slightly and blew his hair out of his face and looked the the billionaire with anger. "Why do you care? You're just gonna send me to juvey anyway." Bruce sighed and rested a hand on his shoulder. "Not necessarily...besides, I'd really like to know. I'm Bruce Wayne."

The boy tilted his head slightly and smirked. He wrenched one hand free and held it out to Bruce to shake.

"Jason Todd."

* * *

><p><strong>Oh my god...what have I done! I do believe we're gonna be treading alternative universe waters here folks. BRACE YOURSELVES.<strong>

**DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! ANY AND ALL FEEDBACK IS GREATLY APPRECIATED AND ENCOURAGED! :D It's very inspiring :)  
><strong>


	15. Wish You the Best

**Greetings everyone! Here we have yet another update for you all! And yes, this had totally turned into an AU...with a time skip xD. Anything that doesn't make sense in this chapter will be explained in the next one...:P If not, feel free to PM me :D  
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**Anyway, I would like to ask something of all of you...if you really like this story, I would really appreciate you guys if any of you have tumblrs or anything like that...if you would be kind enough to share it on there and or tell friends about it? I only ask since I want to make sure you guys are finding it worthwhile to read and I'm not just wasting time for each chapte..thanks for understanding :)  
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**Without further interruption, I present chapter 14 :D  
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* * *

><p><strong>5 YEARS LATER...<strong>

* * *

><p>"Who's a cute baby? You're a cute baby!"<p>

Wally West grinned at the small red-headed baby he was bouncing on his leg. She giggled and curled her fingers toward him as he let her tiny fingers latch around his pinkie.

Roy Harper (the clone) sat by Artemis a few feet away on the couch, looking around Artemis and Wally's house, occasionally giving a steely glance to their dog.

He reached an arm out when he saw Wally start to throw the baby up in the air, her giggling filling the house.

"Wa-WALLY BE CAREFUL!"

Artemis put a hand over her mouth and snickered.

Roy narrowed his eyebrows at her as soon as his mini coronary was done with.

"What's so funny?"

She shook her head. "Oh nothing, just you finally getting your act together and actually being a father..it's nice to see."

Roy shrugged and watched Wally continue to play with Lian.

Minutes later, he soundlessly made his way over to them and eased himself on the couch gently, careful not to wake the bundle in his arms.

"So, how's Little Roy doing?" They spoke in hushed tones, mindful of the small baby.

Roy ran a hand through his hair. "He texted me the other day...Ollie had him start school at Gotham Academy...he says he met some good friends there so far..."

Artemis smiled. "Already? You get any names?"

Roy pondered this a moment. "Uh...yeah...he said Jason and Kori. Apparently, he's got some sort of crush on this Kori girl, said she's got really tanned skin and bright red hair with green eyes. I guess that's common from where's she's from though...she seems like a nice chick.."

Wally raised an eyebrow. "You met her?"

He nodded. "Met Jason too."

Wally's breath hitched. "Wait! Jason? As in..Jason Todd? As in...the kid that Bruce adopted after..." He trailed off, not wanting to finish his statement.

Roy nodded again. "Bat-Bruce isn't letting the kid near any of the whole "hero thing". He's not letting anyone from the league or Young Justice around him...doesn't want him finding about the other life...not after what happened to Dick anyway...I'm surprised he even let Roy be friends...but I guess they hit it off, so he allowed him and Kori to be best friends...or some shit like that.."

Artemis scrunched her lips together. "So, he's told him _nothing? _Not even about him being Batman?"

Roy shook his head. "Nope...he's growing up like any billionaire's ward: complete asshole, smart as fuck, and womanizing..."

Wally snorted. "Oh c'mon...he's isn't...is he?"

The archer chewed on his nail a moment. "Well...I mean he's not snobby or anything considering he grew up on the street..but from what Roy told me...the kid doesn't have a good record for following authority...or listening...and he's pretty damn unsafe about everything. If you want my personal opinion...it's probably a good thing Batman didn't have him be the next Robin or whatever..."

Wally tilted his head. "Why do you say that?"

He rubbed a hand over his nose. "Maybe it's the pain killers talking..but...all I can say is that I wouldn't see this kid lasting long as Robin...if you know what I mean..."

Artemis gasped. "Roy...that's terrible."

He put his hands up. "Look, I'm sorry...and what do I know? I'm just some recovering drug addict clone anyway..." He smirked and leaned over to Lian. "Who finally decided to get his act together..for a very good reason."

Wally and Artemis smiled, even though what he said was still eating at the back of their mind.

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><p>The large mansion door creaked as a teenaged hand latched around the doorknob.<br>He turned his head back to the two other teens who had driven in the limo along with him. Being friends with the ward of a billionaire had its perks, especially being able to get a ride home from school in a limo.

The red head turned his head back to the limo and grinned cheekily. "See you guys tomorrow!"

The bright fire red haired girl leaned her head out the window, her bright green eyes reflecting in the afternoon sun. "Goodbye Jason! The driving home from school with you was most enjoyable!" Her bright white teeth showed as she gave a petite wave.

Another red head appeared beside her, successfully squishing them both against the opened window.

"Yeah, what she said!"

Jason laughed. "Yeah, yeah Harper. See ya Kori!"

They all gave final waves before the limousine pulled away from the door and headed back down the drive way, continuing on its destination to deliver the other kids to their homes.

Jason laid his backpack on the ground and fidgeted with his tie annoyingly.

"Alfred, I'm home!"

The old English butler appeared out of nowhere, smiling warmly as he hugged the boy.

"Master Jason, how was school?"

The boy rubbed his shoulder. "Oh you know...same old same old...did really sucky on a math test...hung out with Kori and Roy...oh, but I did get extra credit on my science project."

The butler's face brightened. "Is that so?"

He smiled. "Yep. We were discussing gun powder and explosive compounds. I was so knowledgeable on it, she gave me and Roy extra credit."

The butler chuckled. "I take it Master Harper was your lab partner then?"

He nodded. "Yep! He's really good with everything about guns and stuff."

Alfred nodded. "Well, I'm glad it proved to be useful to you then. Would you like your after school milk and cookies, now, or later?"

Jason thought a moment. "Uh...in a few minutes..." He tugged on his tie again. "I wanna get out of this monkey suit first.."

Alfred watched as the boy practically flew up the stairs to his room.

He sighed before returning to the hallway, sparing a glance at a picture frame with Jason and Bruce all fancied up and raring to go, the night before a Gotham Academy Father/Son dinner.  
>It was one of those rare moments when there was a legitimate happy smile on both their faces.<p>

He removed a key from his pocket and unlocked a drawer directly below the newer photo frame. A red cloth was draped over a rectangular object inside. With the utmost care, he removed the cloth and gingerly picked the object up, before removing a cloth from his pocket and wiping the surface off lovingly. He stared at the image a moment before smiling.

The photo was exactly the same, Bruce in a suit, smiling as the photo was taken, right before Gotham Academy's annual father son dinners. Only this time, instead of a fiery red haired boy, stood a raven haired one, his smile wide and grinning.

The butler closed his eyes, for a moment, thinking he heard the boy's laughter echo off the walls of the manor.

Sighing he opened the drawer again and placed the red cloth back into it. He went to replace the photo frame, but hesitated. Instead he locked the drawer once more and returned his attention to the tabletop where the single photo frame was.

With the utmost care, he slide the already existing photo frame over slightly and placed the one in his hands right beside it. He smiled at both frames before wrapping his hands around them both gently and closed his eyes once more.

He stepped back and nodded to himself. _That's better._

* * *

><p>Black clad boots maneuvered across the tiled floor skillfully, not making a sound. A white skull mask pressed up against the small window on the door in front of him, eyes honing in on the target inside of the room. Gripping the small paper bag he was holding, he pulled out three X shaped shuriken and charged into the room. Before he even had a chance to throw them however, another body mass was colliding into him.<p>

He was sent careening onto the floor rolling onto his back, while an elbow was placed on his abdomen, preventing him from getting up.

Red X threw his hands up above him in a defeated manner. "Well fuck, Redwing. You still find it acceptable to try and beat me up...even after I'm out all day working and bring back dinner...just like a good husband should!" He smiled maliciously behind his mask.

Redwing made a disgusted face before leaping off of him.  
>"Ew, dude don't go all touchy-feely on me..."<p>

Red X snickered. "Please" He ran his hands over his abs. "You wish you could get something as good as this."

Redwing nodded. "Sure, if I was into nose-picking, crude humor, forever virgins...then yeah, sure."

"Oh you little piece of dog shit!"

Red X lunged and they began resuming their fight on the floor.

* * *

><p>And that is how our dear friend Slade found his two "professional assassins." Rolling on the floor, pulling hair, biting, and kicking at each others groins.<p>

Slade rolled a hand over his mask annoyingly. "If this is how my assassins are going to behave now...well..we're all screwed."

Both jumped at the voice and made a show of untangling themselves and running up to meet their superior.

Redwing looked at him through his domino mask with a slight bit of remorse. "I uh...well you see, we were..sparring..."

He folded his arms. "Sparring my ass. Just try to behave at least half your ages for once." He turned to leave.

Red X piped up. "Yes, **MOM**."

Redwing snickered and Slade just simply shook his head before turning back to Redwing.

"Ah, I was meaning to tell you, I saw Batman today...he's still trying to find his little Robin...It's really pitiful.."

Slade put a hand on the black haired man's shoulder and looked through the slits on his domino mask.

"Birds leave the nest eventually."

* * *

><p>"Aha! I've got it!" The small raven haired boy threw his hands in the air, successfully causing the newspaper clippings of Batman, Robin, and Bruce Wayne to fall to the floor.<p>

An older man appeared in the doorway, rubbing his eyes groggily, taking note of the mess on his son's desk, only being illuminated by a small table lamp.

"You've got what?"

The boy grinned ear to ear as he turned to face his father. "I've figured out who Batman and Robin are!"

His father gave him an unamused frown. "That's great, Timmy. Great."

He rubbed his eyes again as he headed down the small hallway, waving him off. "Go back to bed, it's 2 a.m and you have school tomorrow."

He folded his arms over his chest and stuck his lower lip out. "I don't need school. I could have Batman and Robin teach me how to fight and be a detective and-"

His father's voice echoed. "To bed Timothy!"

He huffed before getting up and turning off the lamp before climbing into his bed.  
>He closed his eyes and let sleep overcome him.<p>

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><p><strong>Alright my loyal readers, you know what to do! REVIEW! :D Pretty please with a Robin on top! :D <strong>


	16. So Darkness I Became

**And here we have yet another installment of our tale, ladies and you can see, I also gave the chapters some titles...but they are subject to change..please excuse the stupid names! xD  
><strong>

**I'd also like to take a moment to thank you all for the kind reviews. Seriously, I love you guys. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH. This story would not be where it is today without all your wonderful support :)**

**So, this one's for you, guys! :D**

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><p>Just for the sake of saying it, it was NOT his fault that he ended up where he did. He had absolutely no plans of finding what he could only explain as some secret underground cave...thing...which happened to be THE Batcave.<p>

Jason walked along the concrete path, taking in all the sights-The Batmobile, submarine, and-hello, what was this? He walked closer to the glass and ran a finger over the perfectly shined case. Inside the case was the all-time favorite Robin costume. Jason had seen pictures of the old-dynamic duo in the paper, but this costume was definitely _off. _  
>The overall costume, like the tunic, was immaculate. However the cape..and what remained of the gloves had blood splatter. He backed up slightly, perturbed by the sight in front of him.<p>

He nearly stumbled over Ace's dog bed in the process, thankfully not the dog itself, Ace was asleep in Jason's room. Ever since the boy had arrived at the manor, the dog had some sort of protective instinct to Jason and Jason alone.

His eyes fixated on a small plaque below the case. 'Richard Grayson'.

Realization hit the boy like a freight train. He scrambled backwards and ended up bumping right into an old englishmen with a feather duster.

The man's eyes widened at the boy. "Master Jason, y-you should not be down here."

Jason backed away and looked at him remorsefully. "I didn't mean to, honest. I was just bored..and I went into Bruce's office...and the little statue had that button..and...I ended up here..."

The butler sighed and laid a hand on his shoulder. "It's alright Young Master, but we mustn't let Master Bruce find out...he'd be deeply upset about this."

Before Jason could even ask why, a red alert signal appeared on the Bat-computer.

Jason spun his head around looked to the butler. "What's going on?!"

The butler's expression didn't falter as he led the boy to the elevator that went back to the manor.

"It seems someone has broken in."

* * *

><p>"And I love you Angelfish!"<p>

Superboy frowned and made a gagging noise as he walked by the..er..couple, before resuming his walk to the cave, where he spotted Artemis in the living room, typing on a laptop, working on a college assignment, no doubt.

He sat down on the couch beside her with a huff. She looked at him a split-second before resuming her keying.

She stopped typing suddenly and stared at her screen for a moment, brow creasing in concentration.

"I need a synonym for moronic."

He looked her dead in the eye. "Lagoon Boy."

She jabbed his elbow playfully before chuckling. "I don't think that's going to work for my lit paper, sorry."

He rolled his eyes and leaned his head on the rest behind him. "Where's Wally at?"

She chewed on her nail before shrugging slightly. "He's out as Kid Flash in Central right now, they got a report of a robbery in progress with that Red X guy...and I think...Redwing? His Uncle is on vacation with Iris right now, so he said he'd take care of it."

* * *

><p>Alfred led Jason along the side of the the banister on the staircase of the manor.<br>He leaned down to the boy and whispered. "Master Bruce has an emergency beacon along that wall there, behind the painting, the Justice League and he will be alerted immediately once its pressed."

Jason's mouth dropped. "T-the whole Justice League? Holy shit!"

Unfortunately for him, his exclamation was a little on the loud side. They both heard a pair of feet scurrying towards them and they slowly started up the stairs, in an attempt to get away.

That's when they heard a child's surprised shriek. Jason wasn't sure what came over him at that moment, but all he could think about was that some kid, some young kid was in trouble, and he felt obligated...felt the _need _to help.

In one quick motion, he lept over the staircase railing and went running down the hall towards the sound, a very concerned butler making his way after him.

* * *

><p>He was not expecting to see what he did when he arrived in the main room.<p>

There sitting on the ground was a boy a few years younger than him with shaggy black hair and piercing baby blues. He wore faded blue jeans and a black shirt with the iconic yellow and black bat symbol on it.

Ace, the _guard dog_was standing next to the boy, licking his face despite the half-hearted swatting away he was doing. His giggles echoed through the hallways as the dog's tongue assaulted his face.

He stopped the giggling when he realized he was no longer alone with the dog. His eyes rose slowly to meet the taller redhead standing in front of him.

He immediately gave the older boy a toothy grin. "Hi there!"

Jason raised an eyebrow. "Uh, who exactly are you?"

He stood up and straightened before giving himself the most authoritative face he could muster.

"I'm Timothy Drake."

By this time the butler had arrived and gave the raven-haired child a questioning look. "Young man, what exactly are you doing?"

The boy straightened. "I..didn't mean to trip any alarms or anything...I..uh..that door was open and I..."

Jason walked closer to the boy and folded his arms over his chest. "Why are you here, kid?"

The child stood as tall as he could and narrowed his eyebrows before crossing his arms and looking Jason right in the eye.

"I'm here to start my training as the new Robin."

* * *

><p>Oh god. It was that Cadmus incident all over again. I mean, it was a little different, but still. Some things were freakishly similar. Red X and his douchebag friend <em>Redwing<em> decided to be all high and mighty and rob one of the largest most high end security banks in Central.

Wally watched from the ground as Red X piled his two hostages on the roof ledge and then turned to Redwing who was lounging on one of the suitcases packed with cash.

He could vaguely hear them discussing when their _ride _was gonna be there while X just hung two bankers over the ledge like it was nothing. _Bastards. _

Without thinking or any fight tactics in mind, he was speeding up the side of the building and up on the roof, landing an elbow into Red X's collarbone, and propping the two unconscious bank tellers in the corner of the rooftop. Before he could even get back up, he was pistol whipped in the side of the head.

Next thing he knew, gloved hands were on him and tossing him over the side of the rooftop. Out of instinct, his hands grabbed for leverage as he was left hanging on the side of the building for dear life.

The unfortunate sound of a gun click caused him to look up and see a boot trampling painfully on one of his hands, it belonged to Red X who was aiming the pistol at his face.

Redwing stood a few feet behind them. Something was not right. He couldn't quite put his finger on it but there was something oddly familiar about that little ginger hanging off the side of the building.

"_I didn't want my best pal questioning my objectivity." _

"_Dude, that's what a best pal is for..." _

His best pal...His best friend...was..Kid Flash...so...

He rubbed his eyes blearily. These memories..they were foreign..but something..something about them seemed..safe..familiar...

He eyed the yellow-clad hero again and blinked a few times. "W..luy? -ally? Wal-Wally? WALLY!"

Without any further hesitation he full out sprinted towards his goal area and rammed into Red X, sending him sprawling on to the ground a few feet away, his gun flying uselessly in the opposite direction.

Redwing immediately lent a hand out to the bewildered speedster and pulled him up with ease.

The raven-haired man rubbed his temples and scrunched his eyes. He gave Wally a quick glance. "You-You ok dude?"

The speedster's eyes nearly popped out of his head. "Dick!? Is that you?"

He pulled his cowl down and rested his hands on the other man's shoulders.

"What..what the hell happened to you?"

Dick didn't respond, he only whimpered and rubbed his head more, trying to hide a grimace."

Concern was evident on the speedster's face. "Hey, man we need to get you to a doctor."

Dick's head shot up and he balked. "Doctors? No. No more doctors! You can't make me!"

By this time sounds of a helicopter could be heard overhead. Both heads shot up as they saw a ladder drop down.

Red X had come to and had grabbed the frightened Romanian by the bicep, dragging him toward the ladder and urging him to climb, which he did so without a misstep.

Kid Flash raced forward, missing the ladder by a hair.

Red X laughed and yelled to the Speedster. "Better luck next time Flash Boy!"

He could only watch as his best friend disappeared into the helicopter and flew away from him yet again.

He wet his lips and reached a shaking hand up to his communicator. His face was grim as he tried to find his voice, which still came out in a crack.

"B-Bruce. You're...You're not going to believe this..."

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><p><strong>Ta! Da! Cliffhangers! <strong>

**The italics was kinda like a flashback thing, and it's not mine, it's acutally from Young Justice Performance. It's a convo between Robin and KF, very heartwarming :')**

**Anyway, please don't forget to review! I read each and every one! It only takes a few seconds! Thanks!**


	17. Help Me Here

**I'm alive! And we got an update! I'm really sorry about the wait guys, but I'm only on my second week of school and I already need a kayak to get through all the homework...so updates are gonna be kinda slow, but they will be on the way! I'm not too happy with this chapter...but uhh...I hope you enjoy it, even if it is short xD And I'm starting a writing class so hopefully you'll see some improvement :D**

**~Enjoy!~**

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><p>The plane ride home was agonizing. Little by little, the memories, good and bad, were returning to him. Circuses, people falling, Bruce Wayne, little pixie boots and short pants, Gotham City, Young Justice..his friends...all of them...Wally, Artemis, Zatanna, Kaldur, Connor, M'gann...his friends...he knew, he needed to get back to them, no matter what.<p>

They finally landed at their hideout and Red X led the way inside with a groan.

"Well that fucking sucked."

Redwing shrugged. "Eh...I guess."

"I guess? You're the idiot that decided it was ok to SAVE the freaking hero! What the hell, man?"

"Save who, exactly?" A figure stepped from the darkened area of the room, his voice taking on a metallic tone.

Redwing turned to Red X desperately.

The delinquent dug his foot into the floor. "Redwing..he uh...there was a cat in the building we robbed...he wanted to make sure it got out safely or some shit...guy's an animal lover or something..."

Slade tilted his head. "I see...well then...just be sure you keep your eyes on the prize next time..."

They both nodded quickly and took a place on the couch. Slade walked back to the kitchenette area and grabbed two pizza boxes that had been concealed previously. Red X lifted his head quickly.

"Pizza? You got us, pizza?"

Slade rolled his eyes behind his mask. "Well...I figure that's what most kids your age would eat at times like this...think of it as a reward..."

Redwing gave him a look. "Kids? We're kids now?"

Slade huffed. "Look, you're both years younger than I am, you're both kids as far as I'm concerned."

Red X dove for the pizza box and peered inside. "Who cares Redwing? Dad got us pizza!"

Redwing paled at the mention of "dad" and Slade went deathly silent.

"Ah, it seems we've dropped in at an inopportune time..."

All heads turned to the man and the woman coming through the door. Ra's Al Ghul and his pride and joy, Talia.

They all stood at attention and he waved a hand.

"Please, don't end your supper on my account, I merely dropped by for a visit."

Redwing strode over to him rather quickly and greeted him with a bow.

"Please my dear boy, no need for formalities here, we are family, after all."

He smiled and nodded appreciatively.

"Of course." Redwing replied. _Family my ass, you conniving prick._

He smiled. "Although something has been troubling me...since I haven't been able to visit you and check up on your progress lately..."

"What would that be, Ra's?"

"Your health of course."

"Oh..."

"A highly trained, well-rounded assasin such as yourself should have health as a priority..."

He clapped his hands and smiled maliciously. A dozen figures clad in white with surgical masks emerged from the doorway.

"Now then, Redwing, I do believe it is time for your checkup; since it's apparent you've been having a bit of a..."relapse..." 

* * *

><p>Bruce Wayne settled down in his study, setting his mug of coffee on the desk.<br>The shock of what Wally had said days ago was permanently engraved in his mind. His eyes wandered to his hands which he found were shaking.

As much as he wanted to go down to the Bat-cave again to do as much research as he could on Dick's whereabouts he had another son to take care of as well. He just had to have faith in Wally right now. (He still couldn't believe it either). Jason would be home from the academy in around 30 minutes. Not only that, but he was taking great care to read the note that little Timothy Drake had left him.

**Mr. Wayne,**  
><strong>It was great meeting you, Jason, and Alfred! Anyway, I was just wondering if you would mull over my offer of being your Robin. Mr. Wayne, I think I could help you help people if I could be Robin. I'm in AP Math and Advanced Computer courses at school, plus I joined the boxing and track team (for the extra conditioning, of course). I'm ready to be the Dark Knight's new partner! <strong>  
><strong>-Timothy Drake<strong>

Bruce smiled warmly and chuckled. Such a child he was. Oh, how he hoped he would hold on to that, being a child was a luxury he, himself had never gotten. He was just about to reach for another sip of his coffee when the phone mounted on his desk began to ring.

Odd, he wasn't expecting any business calls or anything of the like, perhaps another charity? Sighing, he picked up.

"Hello? This is Mr. Wayn-"

" ?! This is assistant secretary Sarah Faustus of Gotham Academy-"

"What, what is it?" He did not like where this was going.

She took a deep breath.

"We had three armed shooters enter the premises around 20 minutes ago...your son, Mr. Wayne, was among the injured rushed to Gotham General..."

He wasted no time, leaping from his seat. "I'm on my way."

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><p><strong>~Reviews are very much appreciated! Hope you enjoyed!~ <strong> 


	18. Tell Them I'm Never Coming Back

**Hey Guys!**

**Look, I am so sorry about me not updating. I had a HUGE writer's block in addition to school so I really couldn't work on it much...but, better late than never! :)**

**Anyway, Thank you all for being such good sports.**

**Hope you enjoy this chapter! :D**

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><p>Bruce Wayne held his cheap paper cup coffee with malice as he stared sadly at the still form on the hospital bed, looking all too small and pale hooked up to just about every life sustaining machinery known to man.<p>

His chest rose and fell casually.

A plump nurse with glasses named Nancy came in and checked something down on her clipboard before heading over to Bruce and placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"I'm sure he'll be up any day Mr. Wayne, you just have to have faith."

He managed a small smile in response to her words and returned his gaze to his son.

She nodded before walking out the door. "I'll be back in 20 minutes to change his fluid. Call if you need anything, hun."

Bruce rested his chin in his hand and absentmindedly ran his fingers through the red haired locks of his second son's forehead, brushing them out from his close eyelids.

_I can not lose another son. I WILL NOT lose another son. _

He would do anything in his power to see those sparkling eyes again. See that smile. Hug his son. 

* * *

><p>His ears felt like cotton, he did not hear, all he could register was a faint humming around him until the sound of shouting pierced the silence that clouded his head.<p>

He distinctly heard the sound of bones breaking, cartilage snapping, people shouting...damnit, why didn't they stop? He had a freaking headache..couldn't think straight...

"-Wing!"

"-Wing!"

Something was shoved under his nose and he didn't have the energy or the strength to fight it.

That is until he got a good whiff of it.

His senses immediately returned.

Smelling Salts. Strong Ones

The image in front of him slowly curved away from the fog. A skull mask...he'd seen that before...just about everyday of his life. Red X.

"Hey, hey, you ok?"

Redwing blinked quickly and tilted his head to get a better look at his surroundings. The men who had brought him here in stark white lab coats were all slumped against the wall, bodies contorted in odd angles. Some of them had blood dripping from their lips or nose.

One thing was certain, they had all definitely taken a beating, and he was pretty sure who gave it to them.

A hand was under his back, hoisting him to a sitting position and a light was shined annoyingly into his eyes. He blinked rapidly and swatted the hand with the light away.

He heard a grunt and the light was suddenly gone. Red X's mask came into focus again.

"I don't think they got to fucking your brain up just yet...looks like I came just in time, though."

He gestured to a surgical table with instruments that looked more suited for torture than medical use.

Redwing involuntarily shuddered as Red X helped him off the medical table.

He brought a gloved finger to his mask in a shushing motion and told Redwing to do the same. Seconds later, voices could be heard from outside.

They both tensed but the voices stopped along with the footsteps as whoever was outside headed away from their location.

They righted themselves from their crouched position and Red X let Redwing lean on him slightly, still in recovery from the heavy anesthetics as they headed through a trapdoor embedded in the wall.

Red X turned to face him. "Ra's idiots out there think we're going out the back, when I'm actually taking you to the roof, I've got some friends with a helicopter. They're heading here and then making a pit stop in Gotham. Figured you'd like to tag along."

With that he spun on his heel and began his trek down the darkened hallway once more.

Redwing suddenly shot a hand out and yanked back on the other man's arm.

"You just wait. Why in the hell are you helping me, X? What exactly do you have to gain from it?

Redwing could see him physically sigh before replying.

"I broke the rules already. The big ones for assassins like me. Don't get attached to assets. When Slade brought you back all those years ago, I hated your guts and shit, but you know what? I was wrong about you. ..You're the closest thing I've ever had to a friend...  
>And I know you don't belong here. I sat back and did nothing when they screwed with your head. You belong out there with <em>them<em>, helping people and saving lives. I'm just pissed it took me this long to figure this shit out."

He yanked his arm free from a stunned Redwing and pointed toward the stairs, it'd be too risky to take the elevator.

"And it's about time I reconsider some of my priorities and life."

Redwing nodded and followed hastily.. Never, he would have never expected that to come from Red X of all people. There was no way he could have been faking, though. No one was that good of an actor.

The climb of the stairs was agonizingly slow, but they couldn't risk running up them since the clanking of their boots would give up their location for sure.  
>Twice he'd overshot a step and Red X was right there to catch his arm and help him get back on his feet.<p>

He wouldn't admit it, but it was nice having someone to lean on again, he hadn't had a friend like that since Wally.

* * *

><p>After what seemed like an eternity they reached the rooftop. Redwing could see it clearly now, the off-green helicopter poised on the landing pad, propellers humming steadily.<p>

Red X certainly had some useful friends.

The duo padded swiftly to the open doors where two men were waiting to help them up.

They were just within inches of the landing when a crash could be heard coming from the door.

Eight of Ra Al Ghul's guards had busted down the door and came running at them.

Redwing stared in shock for a moment. Before a harsh shove was delivered to his back. He turned back slightly just in time to see two gloved hands belonging to Red X pushing him forward.

"Get in the helicopter...NOW!"

"What about-"

His words died in his throat as two gunshots pierced the sound barrier. Redwing's eyes widened as he glanced in front of him. Two bullets had taken up residency in Red X's chest.

He knew they penetrated past the Kevlar as a warm red liquid sprayed on his face.

The anti-hero weakly put a gloved hand to his chest to staunch the bleeding, still stuck in the moment of what had just occurred. With the last ounce of his energy he shoved Redwing backward onto the helicopter before crumpling to the ground.

Hands reached for Redwing as he was pulled in the helicopter all the way, the vehicle taking flight immediately after.

"Red!"

His words were lost to the drone of the helicopters engines, all he could do was watch Ra Al Ghul's men descend upon his fallen friend. He clenched his fist and ground his teeth together in profound anger.

_No no no no no!_

He turned to the pilot quickly.

"You have to go back! That's your-our friend! We have to go back!"

That's when he took notice of the man sitting in the passenger seat of the plane who had been silent up until now.

The figure spoke and he recognized the voice immediately.

"Oh, we have no intention of going back."

Backing up, Redwing bumped into the two men that had pulled him into the helicopter in the first place.

"Welcome back, _Richard."_

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><p><strong>Thank You all for reading! Don't forget to review! You guys make my day with your wonderful reviews. Please keep them coming!<strong>

**Thanks! :D**


	19. Declaration of War

**Wow do I suck at updating. I know this is WAYY late, but I've just really been having a bad streak with writing this. Anywho, I really appreciate all the reviews, even if I haven't replied, I read them all and LOVE to hear feedback from you guys. It gives me the urge to keep going with this. And I will finish it, no matter how long it will take, you guys will get an ending.**

**All I can say is, thanks again!**

**~Enjoy **

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><p>"Master Timothy are you alright?" The old butler's voice on concern came through the slight static on the com link.<br>Robin huffed slightly and pressed the button before issuing a reply. "I'm fine Alfred, and call me Robin! I'm a symbol of justice now!"  
>The butler sighed. "<em>Robin, <em>you are still in training, handling minor crimes. If Master Bruce found out I was letting you out, in the Robin costume, even, he'd be sorely upset."  
>Robin clicked his tongue. "Yeah, but I revamped the costume, it's more modern and form fitting...plus its different from <em>his. <em>And did you see what I did? I got that little old lady her purse back."  
>Alfred interrupted him. "I am aware. But I do not want you near any of the real criminals. You see any, and I mean any sign of them, you come right back here and we will notify Batman."<p>

Robin shot out a grappling hook and took a breath as he went sailing through the sky to the next rooftop. Upon touching down he pressed the com link button again.  
>"But we don't have time to wait around, he hasn't left the hospital at all...he even said he wouldn't leave Jason. Someone needs to protect Gotham's citizens!"<br>Alfred rubbed the bridge of his nose. Tim has such spirit, vitality, all Robin should be. He had spunk and skill to get the job done. Even so, it did nothing to soothe the worry that had started to grow in the pit of his stomach.  
>Meanwhile, Robin stood proudly on the ledge of a warehouse building. His cape billowed behind him in the wind, following a few stray hairs that had rustled themselves from his otherwise immaculate haircut.<br>His eyes scanned over the city, admiring the twinkling lights that seemed to blink back at him.  
>He was cut from his thoughts when he heard a woman's shriek. He looked down to the direction of the sound and could just make out three figures backing a smaller one into the alley.<p>

Not wasting another second he shot a line out and headed down there. Landing soundlessly behind the thugs, he began his assault.

Doing a flip in the air he connected two of the thugs heads together roughly, knocking them unconscious before they slid to the ground.

The third thug came at him with a knife, he smirked and sidestepped out of the way.

Meanwhile, the woman who had been being attacked slinked further in the corner, her wide brimmed hat hiding her eyes, and her trench coat's collar pulled up high over her neck.  
>Just as the third thug came speeding back for more, Robin took the lid off of a trashcan and rammed the assailant's head into it, knocking him unconscious.<p>

He heard the woman behind him. "Oh, my hero!"

He smiled and just started to turn when something hit him across the face like a freight train, the impact was so forceful that he slid a few feet and ended up on his side in a rain water puddle.

In his last moments of consciousness he could just make out the woman standing next to a pale faced man in a purple suit, cackling like a hyena.

"Good job, Harles! We sure bagged us a big one!"

* * *

><p>"<em>Ra's Al Ghul"<em>

"Well, hello Richard. How nice it is to see you."

Redwing glared at him as the helicopter flew rhythmically through the sky.

The man adjusted the collar of his robe. "We almost lost you a moment there, how unfortunate that would have been,"

The smaller man ground his teeth together. "You. shot. my. friend."

Ra mocked a sympathetic face. "Ah, well, collateral damage I suppose...and besides, you're a nice young lad, I'm sure you'll make _other _friends."

"You bas-!"

"Language. Language, Richard. I would hate for my men to have to sedate you if you start another outburst."

For emphasis he motioned to two guards in the back, both with surgical masks and suspicious looking medkits in their laps.

The older man folded his hands over his lap and smiled. "Anywho, you'll be seeing a familiar face soon enough.."

Redwing didn't say a word, but he was pretty sure he wouldn't be liking this _familiar face. _

* * *

><p>Bruce tapped his fingers on the bedside table, downing yet another cup of coffee. It was around 10:30 pm and he didn't want to sleep; couldn't sleep with his son still comatose.<br>The room was dead quiet besides his son breathing shallowly, his eyes twitching under his lids ever so often.  
>He turned away a moment but his attention was grabbed when the hand his own was linked with moved slightly.<p>

"Jason?" Bruce whispered experimentally.

Not a moment later the teen was shooting up in bed, green eyes blinking rapidly, frantically.  
>Bruce was ultimately shocked, grabbing the boy's shoulders and easing him back onto the bed as gently as he could.<p>

"Nurse! Nurse! He's awake!"

Jason Todd was back.

* * *

><p><strong>And that's a wrap! Reviews? Pretty please? :) <strong>


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